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CONNECTICUT 


s 

no,  I  (oS. 


IGRICULTDRAL  EXPERIMENT  STAT 


NEAV     HAVEN,     CONN. 


BULLETIM    162,  JANUARY,    1909. 


forestry  Publication  No.  5 


Forest  Survey  of  Litchfield  and  New  Haven 
Counties,  Connecticut. 


The  Bulletins  of  this  Station  are  mailed  free  to  citizens  of  Con- 
aecticut  who  apply  for  them,  and  to  others  as  far  as  the  editions 
permit.  -    ,^. 


CONNECTICUT  AGRICULTDRAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION, 


BOARD    OF    CONTROL. 

His  Excellency,  George  L.  Lilley,  Ex  officio,  President. 

Prof.  H.  W.  Conn,  Vice  President Middletown. 

Prof.   W.    H.   Brewer,   Secretary New  Haven. 

B.    W.    Collins Meriden. 

Charles    M.   Jarvis Berlin. 

Frank  H.   Stadtmueller ".  .Elmwood. 

J.  H.  Webb Hamden. 

E.  H.  Jenkins,  Director  and  Treasurer New  Haven. 


STATION    STAFF. 

Chemists. 

Analytical  Laboratory. 

John  P.  Street,  M.S.,  Chemist  in  Charg^e. 

E.  Monroe  Bailey,  M.S.  C.  A.  Brautlecht,  Ph.B. 

C.  B.  Morrison,  B.S.  Clarence  W.  Rodman,  B.S, 

Laboratory  for  the  Study  of  Proteids. 
T.  B.  Osborne,  Ph.D.,  Chemist  in  Charge. 

Botanist. 
G.  P.   Clinton,  S.D. 

Entomologist. 
W.  E.  Britton,  Ph.D. 

Assistant  in  Entomology. 
B.  H.  Walden,  B.Agr. 

Forester. 
Austin  F.  Hawes,  M.F. 

Agronomist. 
Edward  M.  East,  Ph.D. 

Seed  Testing. 
Mary  H.  Jagger. 

Stenographers  and  Clerks. 

Miss  V.  E.  Cole. 

Miss  L.  M.  Brautlecht. 

Miss  E.  B.  Whittlesey. 

Miss  C.  A.  Botsford. 

In  charge  of  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
William  Veitch. 

Laboratory  Helper. 
Hugo  Lange. 

Sampling  Agent. 
V.  L.  Churchill,  New  Haven. 


FOREST    SURVEY 


OF 


LITCHFIELD  COUNTY,  CONNECTICUT 


AUSTIN  F.  HAWES,  M.F.,  STATE  FORESTER 


AND  OF 


NEW  HAVEN  COUNTY,  CONNECTICUT 


BY 

RALPH  C.  HAWLEY,  M.F. 
Instructor  in  the  Yale  Forest  School 


FORESTRY  PUBLICATION  No.  5 
.  1909 


INTRODUCTION. 


Purpose  of  Report. 

The  original  timber  of  Connecticut  was  largely  cut  off  during 
the  Colonial  period,  and  was  an  important  factor  in  the  early 
shipbuilding  industry  of  the  State.  During  the  past  century  our 
forests  have  been  mostly  of  second  growth,  supplying  only 
material  of  small  dimensions,  such  as  cordwood,  railroad  ties, 
poles,  piles  and  inferior  lumber.  The  great  manufacturing  cities 
of  the  State  and  their  industries  have  been  largely  dependent  upon 
an  outside  timber  supply. 

The  relative  amount  of  native  timber  used  locally  is  increas- 
ing. As  the  lumber  regions  which  now  supply  Connecticut 
approach  exhaustion  their  product  will  grow  scarcer  and  rise  in 
price.  This  will,  of  course,  lead  to  an  increased  local  use  of 
Connecticut  grown  timber.  Woods  which  at  present  are  not 
considered  usable  will  have  to  be  employed  for  lack  of  anything 
better.  In  general,  as  timber  supplies  diminish,  each  section  of 
the  country  will  have  to  depend  more  and  more  on  its  own 
immediate  neighborhood.  This  holds  true  of  Connecticut,  which 
eventually  might  supply  its  own  needs.  To  be  in  a  position  to  do 
so  the  woodlands  must  be  protected  and  more  carefully  managed 
than  is  the  case  to-day. 

The  chief  object  of  this  report  is  to  arouse  interest  in  the  forest 
lands  of  these  two  counties,  which  may  lead  to  the  adoption 
of  better  methods  of  treatment,  resulting  in  a  steadily  increasing 
production  by  the  forest. 

Classification  of  Areas. 

In  mapping  these  counties  the  agricultural  land  was  separated 
from  the  forested  areas,  as  shown  in  Table  I.  Under  the  former 
more  land  is  included  than  that  devoted  strictly  to  agriculture. 

All  the  land  in  the  counties,  with  the  exception  of  the  forested 
areas,  is  thrown  into  this  class,  the  idea  being  simply  to  separate 
from  the  remainder  of  the  land  the  areas  which  are  best  adapted 
to  growing  trees.  The  figures,  therefore,  include  land  in 
cities  and  villages,  rivers,  ponds  and  salt  marshes ;  although  agri- 


CLASSIFICATION    OF   AREAS.  5 

cultural  land,   in  the  narrowest   sense,   of   course,   forms   most 
of  the  area. 

Within  the  forested  area  three  further  subdivisions  or  forest 
types  were  recognized,  depending  on  the  character  of  the  growth. 
These  types  are  as  follows  : 

1.  Mixed  Hardwoods  Type. 

2.  White  Pine  Type. 

3.  Abandoned  Field  Type. 

The  forest  in  general  is  one  of  mixed  hardwoods,  with  rarely 
a  small  patch  of  white  pine  or  mixture  of  hemlock,  and  occasion- 
ally, in  the  southern  region,  a  white  cedar  swamp.  The  abandoned 
fields,  which  are  seeding  up  to  forest,  cover  a  large  territory  and 
are  classed  as  forested  areas. 

Even  aged  stands  characterize  the  woodlands.  Of  course, 
stands  of  all  ages  occur,  from  tracts  which  have  just  been  cut 
over  to  timber  one  hundred  or  more  years  old.  But  within  the 
same  stand  the  age  varies  only  slightly.  The  system  of  clear 
cutting,  which  is  extensively  employed,  accounts  for  the  even 
aged  character  of  the  forest. 

This  uniformity  of  age  within  the  same  stand  makes  it  possible 
to  classify  the  various  tracts  within  each  type  into  broad  age 
divisions.  It  has  been  done  in  this  way  on  the  map,*  all  stands 
one  to  twenty  years  of  age  being  mapped  together,  and  so  on 
in  twenty-year  divisions.  All  timber  over  eighty  years  of  age 
was  put  into  one  class. 

The  abandoned  field  type  is  an  exception,  in  that  trees  of  all 
ages  occur,  so  that  the  age  could  not  be  shown  on  the  map. 

Under  the  abandoned  field  type  are  included  all  fields,  formerly 
cultivated,  which  are  now  lying  idle  and  slowly  reverting  to  forest. 
Many  of  these  fields  are  as  yet  bare  of  tree  growth,  except  for  a 
few  isolated  seedlings  which  serve  to  show  the  condition  of  the 
field. 

Starting  from  such  open  fields,  examples  are  found  of  all 
stages  of  stocking  up  to  stands  where  a  dense  cover  exists. 

Estimate  of  the  Standing  Timber. 

The  estimates  secured  for  this  report  were  made  ocularly  while 
passing  through  the  various  pieces  of  timber.  The  total  amount 
of  cordwood  was  first  estimated,  and  then  a  separate  estimate 

*  This  map  has  been  prepared  but  not  yet  printed. 


6  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

made  of  the  number  of  first-class  oak  and  chestnut  ties.  Thus  the 
figures  in  Table  III  show  by  age  classes  and  types  the  total  num- 
ber of.  cords,  if  the  whole  stand  were  to  be  cut  into  cords,  includ- 
ing the  trees  which  would  make  ties  and  lumber ;  but  the  table 
also  gives  the  number  of  ties  which  could  be  cut. 

It  was  thought  best  not  to  attempt  in  the  field  an  estimate  of 
the  lumber,  inasmuch  as  satisfactory  figures  for  this  product 
would  require  more  accurate  and  detailed  work. 

Lwnbering. 

The  merchantable  timber  in  Connecticut  lies  in  small  bodies, 
with  rarely  any  large  amount  in  one  place.  In  order  to  handle 
these  patches  of  timber  economically,  small  portable  mills  are 
needed,  which  can  be  moved  about  from  place  to  place  cheaply. 
At  present  logging  is  done  largely  with  mills  of  this  type,  cutting 
on  the  average  less  than  10,000  feet  B.  M.  per  day  Avhen  running. 
The  mill  is  set  up  on  or  near  the  woodlot,  and  the  timber  hauled 
in  to  the  mill  on  wagons  or  sleds. 

When  timber  was  more  abundant  there  were  a  great  many 
stationary  sawmills  run  by  water  power.  Frequently  a  sawmill 
was  combined  with  a  gristmill.  In  late  3^ears,  since  the  timber 
has  grown  scarcer  and  more  remote,  the  stationary  mills  are 
either  disappearing  altogether  or  else  are  sawing  less  than 
formerly.  This  is  because  it  is  cheaper  to  set  up  a  portable  mill 
on  a  remote  lot  and  haul  the  sawed  product  to  market,  rather 
than  to  haul  the  logs  out  to  a  stationary  mill  to  be  sawed. 

Where  the  timber  is  still  scarcer  and  occurs  scattered  in  very 
small  quantities,  it  does  not  pay  to  set  up  a  portable  mill  for 
each  tract.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  stationary  mill  is  the 
best  and  eventually  may  be  used  more  than  the  portable  mills. 

It  is  difficult  to  obtain  correct  figures  for  the  annual  cut  of 
forest  products  in  the  State.  Ties,  poles,  piles  and  cordwood 
are  cut  and  marketed  by  many  different  men,  most  of  whom  do  not 
keep  accurate  account  of  the  amount  taken  out  in  a  year.  Since 
the  ties  are  purchased  by  the  steam  and  trolley  roads,  it  would 
seem  as  though  an  accurate  estimate  for  this  product  could  be 
secured.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  impossible  from  their 
books  to  ascertain  the  number  of  ties  cut  in  the  individual  counties. 
The  cordwood  cut  is  still  harder  to  estimate,  because  of  the 


MIXED    HARDWOODS    TYPE.  7 

innumerable  landowners  who  cut  and  market  it.  A  large 
amount  is  burned  each  year  as  fuel  by  the  farmers,  by  brick- 
yards and  manufacturing  plants.  The  cities  and  villages  consume 
the  remainder  of  the  cut  for  fuel. 

Most  of  the  sawmill  operators  keep  account  of  the  amount 
of  timber  sawed  at  their  mills.  The  amount  sawed  each  year 
by  the  same  mill  varies  greatly,  depending  on  whether  or  not 
the  owner  secured  enough  jobs  to  keep  the  mill  running.  On 
account  of  this  fluctuation  the  attempt  was  made  to  estimate  the 
average  annual  cut  of  lumber,  rather  than  the  actual  cut  for 
the  year. 

Management  of  the  Forest. 

At  the  present  time  no  systematic  plan  of  management  is  used 
in  handling  the  woodlands  of  the  State.  Occasional  large  tracts 
are  owned  by  individuals  or  companies,  but  the  ordinary  holding 
is  small  in  size.  Such  ownership  will  prevent  the  use  of  any 
general  scheme  for  treating  the  timberlands.  Whatever  is  done 
in  the  line  of  improved  methods  must  be  done  by  the  individual 
owner  on  his  own  woodlot. 

The  treatment  needed,  even  by  the  same  type  of  forest,  varies 
greatly  with  circumstances,  such  as  its  present  condition,  past 
treatment,  and  location  with  regard  to  market.  It  is  thus  impos- 
sible to  give  in  this  report  detailed  directions  for  handling  the 
various  woodlots.  But  for  each  forest  type  there  are  certain 
general  methods  of  treatment  which  give  the  best  results  in  the 
long  run.  These  methods  will  be  briefly  taken  up  for  each  type 
separately. 

I.     Mixed  Hardwoods  Type. 

In  cutting  stands  of  this  type  the  clear-cutting  system  can  hardly 
be  improved  upon.  This  system  is  already  in  wide  use.  Close  to 
markets  it  is  almost  universally  employed ;  but  in  the  back  districts, 
where  cordwood  is  often  unsalable,  a  system  of  cutting  out  the 
larger  trees  is  used.  The  chief  species  in  the  type  coppice  thriftily, 
so  that  the  growth  which  starts  after  the  cutting  is  largely  com- 
posed of  sprouts.  This  is  not  the  case  always,  but  as  a  general  rule 
sprout  reproduction  may  be  counted  on  to  replace  the  old  stand. 
By  clear  cutting,  with  its  abundant  admission  of  light,  a  healthy 
sprout  reproduction  is  favored  as  by  no  other  method  of  cutting. 


8  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

Another  reason  for  cutting  off  the  stand  clear,  rather  than  cull- 
ing out  the  bigger  trees,  is  that  the  habits  of  chestnut  and  the 
oaks,  which  form  the  bulk  of  the  timber,  fit  them  to  develop  best 
in  full  light.  Small  trees  which  have  grown  for  many  years  in 
the  shade  of  larger  trees,  when  finally  given  room  by  the  removal 
of  the  latter,  are  unable  to  develop  rapidly  or  to  produce  the 
better  grades  of  timber.  To  certain  species,  like  the  hemlock  for 
example,  the  statement  does  not  apply  at  all,  but  for  the  chief 
hardwood  species  in  the  mixed  hardwoods  type  it  is  true,  and 
makes  advisable  the  use  of  a  clear-cutting  system  in  all  tracts 
managed  on  a  commercial  basis. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  stands  should  not  be  thinned  ;*  on 
the  contrary,  systematic  thinnings  should  be  practiced  on  all  tracts 
where  market  conditions  admit  of  the  disposal  of  cordwood.  But 
the  aim  of  the  thinnings  is  not  to  remove  the  bigger  trees  in 
order  to  increase  the  growth  of  the  smaller.  Such  treatment 
produces  poor  results  in  the  long  run.  The  thinnings  should 
remove  the  smaller  trees,  taking  out  from  one-fifth  to  one-third 
of  the  volume,  with  the  purpose  of  giving  more  growing  space 
to  the  big,  well-formed  trees  which  can  profit  by  the  chance. 
The  growth  is  thus  centered  in  these  best  trees.  When  they 
again  become  crowded  another  thinning  is  made,  removing  the 
smallest  trees,  and  the  process  is  repeated  until  the  time  comes 
for  harvesting  the  crop.  Usually  thinnings  are  needed  at  inter- 
vals of  ten  years,  the  first  one  coming  when  the  stand  is  from 
twenty  to  twenty-five  years  of  age. 

The  rotation  (or  period  of  time  between  any  two  clear  cuttings) 
may  vary  in  length  according  to  the  object  of  management.  The 
general  tendency  of  present  methods  is  to  cut  the  stands  com- 
paratively young.  In  the  case  of  unthinned  stands  it  is  often 
necessary  to  cut  the  timber  before  it  is  of  large  size,  because 
the  trees  crowd  each  other  closely  and  cause  deterioration  of  the 
stand.  Wherever  thinnings  are  made  at  regular  intervals,  a 
stand  will  keep  on  developing  large,  valuable  timber,  with  no 
likelihood  of  deterioration  until  an  advanced  age.  Moreover, 
bigger  timber  will  be  produced  at  a  younger  age  than  in  an 
unthinned  stand. 


*  For  full  instructions  regarding  thinnings  see  Bulletin  154  of  the  Con- 
necticut Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 


ABANDONED    FIELD   TYPE.  9 

Thus  the  rotation  for  thinned  tracts  may  be  safely  either 
low  or  high,  as  the  owner  may  wish.  The  possible  range  of 
rotation  would  run  from  about  forty  years  as  a  minimum  to 
eighty  years  as  a  maximum;  the  lowest  limit  applying  particu- 
larly to  stands  composed  largely  of  chestnut,  and  the  highest 
figure  being  used  occasionally  for  mixtures  of  less  rapidly  grow- 
ing hardwoods. 

2.     The  White  Pine  Type. 

The  stands  of  white  pine  as  they  exist  to-day  are  essentially 
even  aged  in  character,  and  the  plantations  now  being  made  also 
fall  into  this  class.  Quite  similar  treatment  to  that  recom- 
mended for  the  mixed  hardwoods  type  is  advisable  here ;  namely, 
regularly  repeated  thinnings,  followed  by  clear  cutting  at  the 
end  of  a  forty-  to  eighty-year  rotation. 

White  pine,  however,  does  not  sprout,  so  reproduction  must 
be  secured  by  means  of  seedlings.  This  can  usually  be  satis- 
factorily accomplished  as  a  result  of  the  thinnings.  They,  by 
admitting  plenty  of  light  to  the  ground,  afford  opportunity  for 
the  germination  and  growth  of  seedlings.  Under  average  con- 
ditions these  seedlings  appear  abundantly  in  thinned  stands  forty 
years  of  age  or  older,  and  frequently  start  in  stands  ten  years 
younger.  The  seedlings  grow  slowly  for  a  few  years  in  the  shade 
of  the  larger  trees,  but  when  the  stand  is  cut  they  are  given  full 
light  and  begin  to  produce  timber. 

J.     Abandoned  Field  Type. 

Within  this  type  are  included  fields  almost  entirely  open,  those 
partially  stocked,  and  lastly,  former  fields  now  completely  covered 
with  tree  growth,  but  of  poor  quality.  In  most  cases  the  fields, 
for  the  present  g^eneration,  at  least,  should  be  devoted  to  forest. 

The  treatment  for  the  open  and  partially  stocked  fields  differs 
from  that  needed  by  those  fully  stocked  and  will  be  considered 
first. 

It  has  been  found  that  the  length  of  time  required  to  com- 
pletely stock  an  open  field  with  valuable  tree  species  is  a  long 
one;  except  in  rare  instances  never  under  fifty  years,  and  more 
often  eighty  or  one  hundred  years  are  required. 


lO  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

Moreover,  in  this  period  is  not  included  the  time  needed  to  pro- 
duce a  merchantable  crop,  but  simply  to  get  established  a  stand 
of  desirable  young-  trees. 

Stands  of  gray  birch  are  often  established  on  an  old  field 
inside  of  ten  years,  but  gray  birch  is  an  inferior  and  undesirable 
species,  and  must  be  superseded  by  other  better  species  before 
the  field  becomes  thoroughly  productive.  Inasmuch  as  the  seed- 
ing of  old  fields  to  good  species  by  natural  reproduction  requires 
such  a  long  period,  the  wisest  policy  is  to  plant  the  open  and 
partially  stocked  fields  with  some  valuable  species. 

The  species  to  be  planted  will  vary  with  the  character  of  soil 
and  the  product  which  the  owner  desires  to  raise.  In  the 
majority  of  cases  white  pine  will  be  the  best  species.  Chestnut, 
red  pine,  red  oak  and  white  ash  are  also  profitable  trees  for  plant- 
ing. The  probable  cost  of,  and  returns  from,  a  plantation,  are 
discussed  in  a  report  of  this  station.* 

The  fields  already  covered  with  trees  present  a  more  difficult 
proposition  for  management.  While  completely  covered  with 
trees,  the  forest  is  inferior  because  made  up  largely  of  red  cedar 
and  gray  birch,  with  such  associates  as  alder,  hornbeam  and 
others.  As  alread}^  explained,  this  class  of  trees  is  the  first  to 
seize  possession  of  an  old  field.  Gradually  under  these  inferior 
species,  most  of  which  shade  the  ground  but  lightly,  seedlings  of 
chestnut,  hickory  and  the  oaks  creep  in.  In  the  course  of  time 
the  latter  outstrip  the  cedar  and  birch  in  height  growth  and  take 
possession  of  the  type,  in  the  end  shading  out  and  killing  the 
cedar  and  birch.  When  this  process  is  completed  the  abandoned 
field  type  has  given  way  to  the  mixed  hardwoods  type. 

Fully  stocked  abandoned  fields  occur  in  all  stages  of  this  con- 
version process.  How  to  treat  them  is  the  problem.  The  general 
method  should  be  to  allow  the  inferior  species  to  obtain  cordwood 
size  and  then  cut  them  out.  This  allows  valuable  seedlings  and 
saplings,  which  have  gained  a  foothold,  to  immediately  take  pos- 
session of  the  stand,  thus  shortening  the  period  of  conversion  to 
the  mixed  hardwoods  type. 

Where  an  old  field  stand  of  cordwood  size  occurs,  and  even 
young  seedlings  of  good  species  as  well  as  larger  sized  trees  are 
lacking,  it  should  be  cut  clear  and  at  once  planted  to  forest  trees ; 


*  See  Report  of  the   Connecticut  Agricultural  Experiment   Station  for 
the  year  1907,  pages  251  to  252. 


PROTECTION    AGAINST    FIRE   AND    GRAZING.  II 

or  else  left  uncut,  until  enough  valuable  seedlings  spring  up 
under  the  cover  to  furnish  a  new  stand.  If  such  a  stand  were 
cut  off  and  not  immediately  planted,  the  same  kind  of  growth 
would  follow,  or  else  the  field  would  lie  vacant. 

Protection  Against  Fire  and  Grazing. 

Under  any  system  of  management  protection  against  fire  is 
essential.  Plantations  and  stands  of  young  trees  are  particularly 
liable  to  fire  injury.  At  present  the  danger  of  fire  is  considerable 
in  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  in  some  sections,  as  for  example 
along  railroad  lines  and  in  the  vicinity  of  cities,  it  is  enormous. 

On  any  tract,  unless  efforts  are  made  to  keep  out  fires,  forestry 
should  not  be  practiced ;  only  such  things  being  done  as  show 
the  greatest  immediate  profit,  regardless  of  the  future. 

Fire  protection  can  best  be  assured  by  creating  a  proper  senti- 
ment among  landowners  regarding  the  setting  and  extinguishing 
of  fires.  This  may  seem  a  rather  intangible  remedy,  but  it  is 
the  most  effective.  As  soon  as  a  community  fully  appreciates 
the  damage  caused  by  forest  fires,  their  number  and  severity 
diminish. 

Where  i,ooo  acres  or  more  are  in  one  tract  under  the  same 
ownership,  a  system  of  patrol  during  the  dangerous  season  in 
the  spring  and  fall  is  a  good  and  economical  method  of  pro- 
tection. Tracts  of  this  size  are  exceptional,  and  on  smaller  hold- 
ings the  cost  of  the  patrol  is  too  high  for  the  amount  of  land 
protected. 

The  use  of  fire  lines  is  advised  under  certain  conditions.  On 
land  which  can  be  easily  plowed,  such  as  a  sandy  plain,  fire  lines 
often  make  an  excellent  protection  for  a  woodlot  or  plantation. 
Such  lines  to  be  effective  must  be  at  least  fifteen  to  twenty  feet 
wide,  and  be  plowed  or  cultivated  frequently  enough  to  present 
a  surface  free  from  weeds  or  any  inflammable  material.  When  a 
surface  fire  reaches  such  a  line  it  cannot  pass,  unless  a  strong  wind 
should  blow  sparks  across.  In  places  too  rough  or  stony  to 
be  plowed,  fire  lines  cannot  be  cheaply  constructed  nor  econom- 
ically maintained,  and  their  use  is  not  advisable. 

Unrestricted  grazing  on  forested  area  should  also  be  stopped. 
Grazing  animals  injure  the  forests  principally  in  two  ways :  first, 
by  feeding  upon  young  sprouts  and  seedlings,  either  deforming 


12  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

or  killing  them ;  and  second  by  trampling  and  packing  the  soil 
so  that  the  germination  of  seeds  may  be  entirely  prevented. 

If  grazing  is  allowed  in  a  stand  for  a  long  series  of  years 
reproduction  cannot  start.  As  a  result,  when  the  old  stand  is 
cut  off  the  land  must  be  planted  if  another  growth  of  trees  is 
desired. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  grazing  be  prohibited  during  the  whole 
rotation,  but  only  for  the  first  ten  or  twenty  years,  until  the 
young  trees  grow  out  of  the  reach  of  cattle;  and  also  during 
the  last  fifteen  years  of  the  rotation,  in  order  that  seedlings  may 
have  an  opportunity  to  start  under  the  shelter  of  the  old  stand. 
During  the  middle  of  the  rotation  grazing  can  safely  be  allowed. 

Extent  to  which  Improved  Methods  are  nozv  Employed. 

Very  few  tracts  are  at  present  treated  in  a  way  to  make  them 
continuously  productive.  A  few  water  companies  owning  large 
tracts  around  their  reservoirs,  such  as  the  New  Haven  Water 
Company  and  the  Ansonia  Water  Company,  are  now  handling 
their  lands  with  this  object  in  view.  The  same  thing  can  be  said 
of  a  limited  number  of  individual  owners. 

Seven  hundred  acres  in  Connecticut  have  been  planted  to  forest 
trees,  principally  white  pine,  during  the  last  five  years.  In  the 
next  five  years  a  much  greater  acreage  will,  undoubtedly,  be 
planted. 

The  fire  warden  system  is  doing  much  to  arouse  interest  in 
the  forest  fire  problem  and  is  lessening  the  number  of  fires  each 
year.  In  many  towns  the  danger  of  fires  is  rapidly  decreasing, 
because  the  inhabitants  are  practically  united  in  carefulness  about 
setting  fires  and  promptness  in  extinguishing  them. 


LITCHFIELD    COUNTY    SURVEY.  1 3 

LITCHFIELD  COUNTY. 
General  Description. 

Litchfield  County  occupies  the  northwestern  portion  of  Con- 
necticut and  is  the  largest  and,  in  many  ways,  the  most  interesting 
county  of  the  State.  The  total  area  is  612,600  acres,  constituting 
twenty-six  townships.  The  topography  is  made  up  for  the  most 
part  of  a  series  of  irregular  ranges,  running  in  a  general  north 
and  south  direction.  Deep,  tortuous  valleys  have  been  cut 
through  the  hard  rock  of  the  region  by  the  rivers  which  drain 
it — the  Housatonic  and  its  minor  tributaries ;  the  Naugatuck, 
which  later  flows  into  the  Housatonic,  and  the  Farmington,  which* 
is  one  of  the  main  branches  of  the  Connecticut.  All  of  these 
streams  have  the  character  of  swift  mountain  torrents  and  have 
valuable  water  powers,  but  usually  become  very  low  in  summer. 
Elevations  vary  from  two  hundred  feet  above  sea  level  in  the 
valleys  of  the  southern  part  of  the  county  to  twenty-three  hundred 
and  fifty-five  feet,  the  summit  of  Bear  Mountain,  in  the  extreme 
northwest  corner  of  the  State. 

For  the  most  part  the  rocks  of  this  county  are  metamorphic 
gneisses  and  schists.  In  Litchfield  and  Bridgewater  there  are 
considerable  areas  of  diorite.  The  only  trap  formation,  so  com- 
mon in  the  center  of  the  State,  is  found  here  in  Woodbury. 
Throughout  the  western  portion  of  this  county  long,  narrow  belts 
of  limestone  have  been  exposed.  As  might  be  expected  from 
the  geological  formations,  the  soils  of  the  county  are  for  the  most 
part  sands  and  loams,  formed  of  the  disintegrated  native  rock 
mixed  with  a  gravelly,  glacial  till.  In  the  valleys  and  on  the  sides 
and  tops  of  gently  sloping  ridges  we  find  a  deep,  fertile  soil, 
while  on  the  steeper  slopes  the  soil  is  thin  and  the  bedrock  is 
often  exposed.  In  the  western  part  lime  is  conspicuous  in  the 
soil. 

The  lines  of  traffic  in  this  county  are  naturally  the  river 
bottoms.  Railroads  extend  up  the  Naugatuck  to  Winsted;  the' 
Shepaug  to  Litchfield,  and  the  Housatonic  to  Pittsfield,  Massa- 
chusetts. The  Central  New  England  Railroad  crosses  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  region  through  Winsted.  To  the  traveler  on  any 
of  these  lines  the  farm  land  appears  naturally  to  be  confined  to  a 
narrow   strip   in   the  valley  bottoms.      This   is   because  the   hill 


14 


CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 


slopes,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see,  are  usually  wooded.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  the  great  bulk  of  the  agricultural  land 
occupies  the  tops  of  the  plateaus  and  ridges.  In  the  southern 
part  of  the  county,  especially,  as  in  the  towns  of  Washington  and 
New  Milford,  there  are  extensive,  nearly  level  stretches  of  fine 
farm  land,  four  hundred  or  five  hundred  feet  above  the  valleys. 
From  many  hilltops  in  such  towns  as  Barkhamsted  and  Winches- 
ter the  county  appears  almost  wholly  wooded.  While  it  is  true 
that  there  is  much  more  agricultural  land  in  the  southern  than  in 
the  northern  townships,  it  is  also  true  that  an  examination  reveals 
more  farm  land  than  appears  at  first  glance.  This  is  because  the 
steep  slopes  which  are  most  conspicuous  from  a  distance  are 
nearly  all  wooded,  while  a  level  stretch  of  agricultural  country 
may  be  completely  hidden  by  a  grove  or  single  row  of  trees. 

TABLE  I.— LITCHFIELD  COUNTY. 

Classification  of  Areas. 


Area  in  Acres. 

Per  cent,  of 
Total  Area. 

Agricultural  : 

Including   land    in    villages    and    cities, 
ponds  and  lakes 

275,000 

264,000 
3,600 
70,000        <,c(7,6oO 

45 

Forest : 

Mixed  Hardwoods  Type 

White  Pine  Type 

Abandoned  Field  Type 

55 

Total  Area  of  Litchfield  County 

612,600                  100 

Agricultural  Land. 
From  Table  I  it  appeals  that  the  total  area  in  the  county 
classed  agricultural  amounts  to  275,000  acres,  or  forty-five  per 
cent.  As  has  been  said,  the  greater  part  of  this  lies  in  the 
southern  towns,  but  there  is  a  good  sprinkling  of  farm  land 
throughout,  and  especially  in  Salisbury  and  Sharon.  The  chief 
line  of  farming  pursued  is  dairying.  Most  of  the  milk  is  col- 
lected from  the  farmers  and  sent  either  to  New  York  or  Hart- 
ford. They  receive  from  two  and  one-half  to  three  cents  a  quart 
at  the  farm,  and  in  many  cases  this  furnishes  the  only  cash 
income.  In  portions  of  the  valleys  of  the  Shepaug  and  Farming- 
ton,  and  especially  of  the  Housatonic,  tobacco  is  quite  extensively 


LITCHFIELD    COUNTY    SURVEY.  1 5 

raised;  and  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  county  truck  garden- 
ing plays  an  important  part  in  farming.  No  attempt  is  made  in 
this  report  to  distinguish  pasture  from  land  under  cultivation,  but 
it  is  certain  that  a  large  proportion  would  come  under  the  former 
head.  With  extensive  areas  of  pasture  little  grazed  by  cattle, 
and  the  very  large  areas  of  land  reverting  to  forest,  it  seems 
strange  that  sheep  raising  is  relatively  so  insignificant.  It  would 
also  seem  that  orcharding  could  be  greatly  developed  beyond  its 
present  status. 

Right  here  it  is  necessary  to  speak  of  the  extreme  change  which 
is  now  taking  place  in  many  parts  of  the  county,  and  more 
noticeably  in  such  towns  as  Norfolk  than  in  any  other  portion  of 
the  State,  excepting,  possibly,  the  southwest  corner.  Many  city 
people,  especially  from  New  York,  have  acquired  here  during 
the  past  decade  extensive  tracts  at  reasonable  prices.  Usually 
purchased  with  reference  to  the  beautiful  vicAvs  which  abound, 
these  owners  have  either  fitted  over  the  old  farmhouses  or  built 
more  elaborate  dwellings,  in  which  they  spend  the  summer,  and 
in  some  cases  the  whole  year.  While  this  movement  is,  at 
present,  rather  unaccountably  confined  to  a  few  sections,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  it  will  expand  and  that  large  holdings  are  to  be  the 
rule  in  the  future.  With  this  in  mind  it  behooves  the  farmers  to 
appraise  their  views  hereafter,  as  well  as  their  fertile  acres  and 
buildings.  Along  with  this  movement  has  come  the  natural 
influx  of  summer  boarders  and  the  building  up  of  industries 
dependent  upon  them.  Besides  numerous  hotels  in  some  of  the 
villages,  and  camps  on  the  lake  shores,  many  farmers  now  make  a 
considerable  portion  of  their  income  by  taking  boarders  and  rent- 
ing cottages. 

Forest. 

Fifty-five  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  county  is  classed  as  forest, 
or  an  area  of  337,600  acres.  Only  an  insignificant  portion  of  this 
can  be  considered  as  virgin  forest. 

The  largest  tract  of  virgin  timber  in  the  county  is  that  belong- 
ing to  Mr.  Carrington  Phelps,  in  North  Colebrook.  He  has  from 
two  to  three  hundred  acres  of  timber,  the  equal  of  v/hich  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  in  New  England.  It  is  for  the  most  part  a 
mixture  of  immense  hemlock,  beech,  yellow  birch,  sugar  maple, 
fine  black  cherry,  ash,  chestnut  and  oak,  with  a  few  giant  white 


l6  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

pines,  and  represents  the  most  perfect  mixture  of  the  northern 
and  southern  New  England  forest  types  that  the  writer  has  ever 
seen.  That  much  of  the  timber  is  over  mature  and  is  deterio- 
rating is  true  of  this,  as  of  all  virgin  forests. 

While  the  Colebrook  forest  is  the  largest  piece  of  virgin  timber 
in  the  State,  the  most  perfect  piece  is  in  Cornwall  and  belongs 
to  Mr.  John  Calhoun.  He  has  here  a  few  acres  of  the  most 
magnificent  white  pines  that  can  be  found  in  the  East,  and  fully 
equal  to  the  best  timber  of  the  lake  states.  Many  of  them  tower 
up  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  and  have  diameters 
of  three  to  four  feet.  The  stand  is  dense,  so  that  the  yield  per 
acre  will,  in  some  cases,  exceed  one  hundred  thousand  feet. 

There  are  other  patches  of  virgin  timber  in  various  parts  of  the 
county,  but  they  are  mostly  in  a  poor  condition. 

What  is  true  of  the  whole  State  is  particularly  true  of  Litch- 
field County,  that  its  woodlands  have  been  repeatedly  cut  over. 
In  the  northwestern  portion  there  were,  in  early  times,  extensive 
operations  in  iron  mining,  and  the  whole  tributary  region  was 
cut  again  and  again  for  charcoal.  Nearer  the  Naugatuck  valley 
the  damage  in  recent  years  has  been  even  greater,  on  account  of 
the  immense  amount  of  fuel  and  other  wood  products  required 
by  the  brass  foundries. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  part  of  the  country  which  recuperates 
sooner  after  cutting  than  Connecticut.  In  sections  that  are  pro- 
tected from  fire,  the  land  is  immediately  reclothed  with  innumer- 
able vigorous  sprouts  of  chestnut,  oak,  maple,  etc.  The  sprouts 
of  the  chestnut  are  most  prolific  in  number  and  most  rapid  grow- 
ing, so  that  with  every  successive  cutting  the  proportion  of  chest- 
nut is  apt  to  become  larger.  While  there  was,  undoubtedly, 
considerable  chestnut  in  our  virgin  forests,  it  is  probable  that  the 
proportion  to-day  is  greater  than  ever  before.  Practically  all 
the  woodland  of  the  county,  then,  is  of  one  main  type,  mixed 
hardwoods,  with  a  varying  proportion  of  chestnut  and  hardwood 
trees.  But  scattered  widely  over  the  northern  portion  are  little 
patches  of  white  pine  that  have  come  up  on  abandoned  farm 
land,  so  that  the  land  might  properly  be  classed  in  with  that  type. 

White  Pine  Type. 
There  are  several  sections  where  patches  of  white  pine,  varying 
from  a  fraction  of  an  acre  to  fifty  or  one  hundred  acres,  are 


LITCHFIELD    COUNTY    SURVEY.  1 7 

common.  They  are  mostly  confined  to  glacial  deposits  of  sand 
in  the  sides  of  the  valleys,  as  for  example,  along  the  branches 
of  the  Farmington  in  New  Hartford  and  Barkhamsted,  and 
a  branch  of  the  Housatonic  in  Cornwall.  With  the  exception 
of  the  two  virgin  forests  mentioned  above,  all  of  the  pine  stands 
are  young,  and  there  can  be  no  question  that  the  area  given  over 
to  pine  is  on  the  increase,  although  the  supply  of  timber  is 
diminishing.  For  the  most  part  the  stands  are  composed  entirely 
of  pine  of  fairly  even  age,  for  a  field  in  the  vicinity  of  good  seed 
trees  may  become  well  seeded  in  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  abandon- 
ment. In  the  younger  stands  birch  is  often  conspicuous,  but  the 
tendency  is  for  the  pine  to  kill  these  more  intolerant  trees  and  to 
dominate  the  stand. 

Hardivood  Forest. 

As  has  been  said,  chestnut  is  the  most  important  specfes  of  the 
county,  forming  usually  about  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  stand. 
Mixed  with  it  almost  everywhere  are  the  red  and  white  oak  and 
red  maple,  hickories  and  birches.  The  white  and  red  oak  take 
nearly  equal  position  for  second  rank.  In  some  sections  one  and 
in  others  the  other  is  a  little  more  important.  Red  maple  is  more 
common  than  the  sugar  maple,  although  the  latter  is  important 
in  the  northern  part.  Hickory  is  scattered  fairly  evenly  through- 
out, but  never  forms  any  considerable  proportion  of  the  mixture. 
The  most  common  birches  are  the  gray  and  yellow  birch,  but 
black  birch  is  found  considerably,  and  in  the  northern  part  scat- 
tered specimens  of  the  paper  birch.  Of  lesser  importance  are  the 
chestnut  oak — sparsely  found  on  the  rocky  ridges  throughout  the 
section — the  black  oak,  and  in  the  southern  part  the  scarlet  oak, 
sycamore  in  the  river  bottoms,  tulip  in  moist  situations,  basswood, 
butternut,  black  cherry,  beech,  poplar,  sassafras,  elm,  hemlock, 
ash,  blue  beech,  ironwood,  dogwood,  hazel  and  alder. 

Abandoned  Field  Type. 

This  represents  the  roughest  of  what  was  once  agricultural 
land.  Deserted  roads  overgrown  with  brush,  dilapidated  stone 
walls  and  half  filled  cellar  bottoms,  all  point  to  more  prosperous 
times;  yet  one  must  remember  that  with  the  desertion  of  this 
rougher  land,  agriculture  has  become  more  intensive  and  special- 
ized. 

2 


CONNECTICUT   EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    1 62. 


The  presence  of  red  cedar  in  this  type  is  much  less  noticeable 
than  farther  east  in  the  State,  the  characteristic  growth  being 
rather  the  gray  birch  and  sumac,  with  here  and  there  groups  of 
red  maple.  Scraggly  old  apple  orchards  and  scattered  oak, 
hickory  and  chestnut  are  frequent  in  the  type.  Alder  and  hazel 
are  common,  and  in  the  northern  section  white  pine,  paper  birch, 
poplar  and  hemlock.  In  fact,  most  of  the  white  pine  has  come 
up  on  this  class  of  land. 

TABLE  II.— LITCHFIELD  COUNTY. 

Showing  Forested  Area  According  to  Age  Classes  and  Types. 


Type. 

Age  in  Years. 

Acres. 

Mixed  Hardwoods 

1-20 
21-40 
41-60 

6i-up 

71,800 

180,000 
9,000 
3.200      264.000 

White  Pine 

3,600 
70,000 

Abandoned  Field 

Total 

337,600 

The  figures  given  in  Table  II  are  important  because  they  show 
that  practically  the  whole  county  has  been  cut  over  during  the 
last  half  century.  That  much  of  what  was  cut  was  a  second  or 
third  growth,  resulting  from  previous  cuttings,  is  evidenced  from 
the  character  of  the  sprouts  in  many  areas.  However,  it  is  plain 
that  up  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  there  were  considerable 
areas  of  virgin  forest  in  the  more  inaccessible  portions  of  the 
county.  The  substitution  of  the  port3.ble  steam  mill  for  the  old 
water-power  mill  is  responsible  for  the  increased  activity  along 
lumbering  lines.  That  the  most  extensive  growth  now  to  be 
found  is  between  twenty  and  forty  years  old,  bears  out  the  testi- 
mony of  the  people  that  in  the  first  few  years  after  the  introduc- 
tion of  portable  mills  they  were  everywhere.  Much  of  the 
younger  sprout  growth  to-day  comes  from  trees  that  were  too 
small  to  cut  when  the  steam  mills  were  first  introduced,  having 
been  previously  cut  over  for  the  water  mills  or  for  charcoal.  The 
falling  off  in  the  demand  for  charcoal  and  the  growing  demand 
for  larger  materials,  such  as  railroad  ties  and  poles,  is  resulting 


LITCHFIELD    COUNTY    SURVEY.  1 9 

in  land  being  left  for  an  older  rotation  than  was  formerly  the 
case  in  accessible  regions.  While  the  steam  mill  has  been  the 
bane  of  the  forest,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  in  the 
future,  used  under  forestry  methods,  it  may  be  the  most  import- 
ant factor  toward  their  improvement. 


Estimate. 

One  of  the  main  purposes  of  this  investigation  was  to  form  an 
estimate  of  the  amount  of  growing  material  and  also  of  the 
amount  annually  consumed.  The  two  lines  of  data  were  secured 
at  the  same  time,  by  men  who  spent  on  an  average  about  a  week 
in  each  town,  traversing  the  roads  and  crossing  through  the 
woods  wherever  necessary.  On  the  topographic  sheets  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey  they  mapped  in  the  type  of  land, 
and  in  connection  with  the  mapping  they  estimated  the  stand  per 
acre  in  cords,  or  ties  and  cords.  They  secured  information 
regarding  the  annual  cut  by  conversing  with  mill  men,  contrac- 
tors and  farmers.  Necessarily,  a  method  which  allows  one  man 
less  than  a  week  for  estimating  the  standing  wood  on  a  tract  of 
some  twenty  to  forty  thousand  acres  is  only  approximate.  As 
there  was  no  special  appropriation  available  for  the  work,  and  as 
a  general  figure  was  all  that  was  desired  it  did  not  seem  advis- 
able to  spend  more  of  the  station's  income  on  this  work.  The 
reader  must,  therefore,  realize  that  the  following  estimates  are 
not  supposed  to  be  strictly  accurate. 

TABLE  in. —LITCHFIELD  COUNTY. 

Showing  Amount  of  Standing  Timber  in  Cords  and  Ties 

BY  Age  Classes  and  Forest  Types. 


Type. 

Age  in  Years. 

Cords. 

Ties. 

M.  B.  M. 
Feet. 

Mixed  Hardwoods 

I-20 
21-40 
41-60 

6i-up 
All  ages 

754,000 

3,400,000 

462,000 

180,000 

210,000 

6,500,000 

750,000 

284,000 

White  Pine 

4,796,000 
260,000 

7,744,000 
70,000 

4.500 

Abandoned  Field 

Totals 

5,056,000 

7,814,000 

4.500 

20  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

These  estimates  mean  that  if  all  the  trees  in  the  county  were 
cut  into  fuel  there  would  be,  approximately,  5,000,000  cords.  In 
cutting  trees  into  ties  there  is  always  a  portion  of  the  tree  which 
will  make  nothing  but  fuel.  It  is  therefore  estimated  that  one 
hundred  ties  would  use  about  seven  cords  of  wood ;  7,814,000 
ties  are  equal,  therefore,  to  547,000  cords.  So  if  all  the  chestnuts 
and  oaks  which  are  large  enough  for  ties  were  cut  for  that  pur- 
pose, there  would  be  about  7,814,000  ties  and  4,500,000  cords. 
No  estimate  was  made  of  the  amount  of  saw  lumber  standing  in 
the  county.  Considering  thirty-one  board  feet  as  the  equivalent 
of  a  railroad  tie,  the  7,814,000  ties  would  be  equivalent  to  242,- 
234,000  feet,  which  would  represent  fairly  well  the  stand  of 
chestnut  and  oak  lumber.  In  addition  to  this  is  a  vast  amount 
of  lumber  of  maple,  birch,  ash,  pine,  hemlock  and  other  species, 
which  is  included  in  the  5,000,000  cords.  As  an  approximation  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  chestnut  and  oak  together  form  seventy-five 
per  cent,  of  the  lumber  of  the  county,  so  that  80,000,000  feet 
would  cover  the  amount  of  lumber  of  the  other  species. 

Summary  of  Yield  of  ^^/,6oo  Acres. 
All  trees  cut  into  cordwood  5,000,000  cords. 

All  chestnut  and  oak  cut  into  ties 7,814,000  ties. 

The  rest  cordwood   4,500,000  cords. 

Chestnut  and  oak  cut  into  lumber  242,000,000  feet  B.  M. 

Birch,  maple,  ash,  pine,  and  other  lumber 80,000,000     "        " 

The  rest  cordwood   4,300,000  cords. 


These  figures  may  be  converted  into  money  value  by  using 
stumpage  prices  for  the  various  products.  These  prices  depend, 
of  course,  upon  the  nearness  to  the  market,  so  vary  a  great  deal 
in  different  parts  of  the  county.  The  average  values  for  the 
county  are  considered  as  follows : 

All  lumber  @  $6.00  per  thousand  feet. 

Ties    "       .18  apiece. 

Wood "       .60  a  cord. 

Using  the  third  summary  of  yield,  the  money  value  of  the 
timber  is,  then : 

322,000,000  feet  of  kimber  $1,932,000.00 

4,300,000  cords  wood   2,580,000.00 

$4,512,000.00 


LITCHFIELD    COUNTY    SURVEY. 


Market  Conditions. 


Wood.  There  are  in  the  county  four  large  markets  for  cord- 
wood.  The  districts  tributary  to  these  have,  perhaps,  suffered 
in  the  past  more  severely  than  any  other  portions  from  over- 
cutting,  but  on  the  other  hand  their  future  is  brighter,  since  it  is 
only  where  there  is  a  demand  for  cordwood  that  improvement 
thinnings  can  profitably  be  made. 

1.  The  Barnum,  Richardson  Company  of  Lime  Rock  and 
East  Canaan  does  a  large  business  in  mining  and  smelting  iron 
ore,  and  also  makes  car  wheels.  Charcoal  is  used  in  the  process 
of  making  steel,  but  most  of  this  is  imported  from  the  West. 
The  New  England  Lime  Company,  the  Canfield  Lime  Company 
and  the  Connecticut  Western  Lime  Company  operate  in  the  north- 
west part  of  the  county,  having  offices  at  Canaan.  While  there 
is  now  comparatively  little  charcoal  made  in  the  region,  a  large 
quantity  of  wood  is  consumed  by  these  lime  companies,  in  all 
about  10,000  cords  annually.  (Part  of  this  comes  from  Massa- 
chusetts.) Cordwood  delivered  at  the  lime  kilns  brings  $2.50 
to  $2.75*  per  short  cord,  three- foot  lengths.  Sold  for  stove  wood 
it  brings  $4.50  per  cord  for  chestnut  and  $6.50  for  hardwood. 

2.  The  Coe  Brass  Company  of  Torrington  consumes  annually 
about  15,000  cords  of  wood,  of  which  about  6,000  cords  are  cut 
in  Torrington  and  the  rest  in  neighboring  towns  and  even  in 
Massachusetts.  The  price  paid  for  mixed  wood  delivered  is 
$3.25  per  cord, 

3.  Although  Waterbury  is  not  in  Litchfield  County  it  fur- 
nishes a  market  for  much  of  the  wood  cut  in  the  towns  of 
Plymouth,  Thomaston,  Watertown  and  Woodbury.  The  large 
rolling  mills,  brass  factories  and  foundries  use  a  great  amount  of 
wood,  and  even  more  is  consumed  for  domestic  purposes. 

4.  The  southwest  part  of  the  county  has  a  market  for  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  wood  at  Boardman's  Bridge,  in  New  Mil- 
ford,  where  the  New  England  Lime  Company  operates.  This 
company  uses  about  8,000  cords  a  year,  most  of  which  it  cuts 
itself,  but  it  also  pays  $3.50  a  cord  for  wood  delivered. 

In  some  regions  too  far  from  these  centers  to  haul  wood  con- 
siderable wood  is   "coaled."     In  the  northern  parts  of  Cornwall 

*  It  must  be  remembered  tliat  the  prices  here  given  are  those  which 
prevailed  in  the  summer  of  1907. 


22  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

and  Sharon,  for  example,  about  15,000  cords  are  used  annually 
for  charcoal,  which  sells  to  the  lime  companies  of  Canaan  at 
$9.50  per  hundred  bushels.  Woodland  for  coaling  is  handled  on 
a  rotation  of  about  thirty  years.  Pits  are  made  up  with  fifteen  to 
thirty-five  cords  each  and  require  ten  to  fifteen  days  to  burn. 
Three  cords  of  wood  make  about  one  hundred  bushels  of  charcoal. 
The  teams  delivering  the  coal  haul  about  two  hundred  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty  bushels  to  a  load.  The  best  coal  is  made  from 
butt  logs  and  sells  in  the  cities  at  twelve  to  fifteen  cents  a  bushel. 

Throughout  the  county  a  large  amount  of  wood  is  used  for 
domestic  purposes,  practically  every  farmhouse  consuming  ten 
to  fifteen  cords.  Every  village  furnishes  a  local  market  for 
wood  in  limited  quantities.  But  further  back  from  the  large 
markets  and  the  villages  much  wood  is  left  on  the  ground  after 
lumbering.  In  the  southern  part  of  Sharon  and  Cornwall  and 
the  northern  part  of  Kent  and  Warren  it  is  estimated  that  10,000 
cords  are  wasted  annually  for  want  of  a  profitable  market,  and 
the  same  is  true  of  other  regions. 

Ties.  The  price  paid  for  ties  has  varied  somev/hat  during  the 
past  two  years,  from  forty-two  to  fifty-five  cents  for  firsts  and 
from  thirty  to  thirty-five  cents  for  seconds.  For  a  few  lots  of 
ties  as  high  as  sixty  cents  has  been  paid,  while  some  have  been 
sold  to  a  New  York  railroad  at  a  higher  price.  Fifty-five  cents 
apiece  is  at  the  rate  of  less  than  eighteen  dollars  per  thousand 
feet,  so  the  relative  profit  depends  upon  cost  of  manufacture  and 
transportation.  In  1907  28,510  ties  were  used  on  the  Naugatuck 
and  Berkshire  Divisions,  and  26,354  on  the  Central  New  England 
Railroad,  making  54,864  in  all. 

Poles.  There  are  three  classes  of  poles  in  use — those  for 
telephone,  telegraph  and  electric  power.  The  Southern  New 
England  Telephone  Company  used  5,018  poles  in  Litchfield 
County  in  1906  and  1,259  in  1907.  These  were  of  the  following 
dimensions  and  prices : 

15  20  ft.  poles  at  $1.75  each. 


727  25  " 

'   "  2.00   ' 

306  30  " 

'   "  3-00   ' 

123  35  " 

'   "  4-25   ' 

50  40  " 

'   "  5-25   ' 

36  45  " 

'   "  6.50   ' 

2  50  " 

'   "  9-50   ' 

LITCHFIELD    COUNTY    SURVEY.  23 

The  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  reports  that  scarcely 
any  poles  were  used  in  the  county  in  1907,  none  except  to  renew 
a  few  defective  ones  at  various  points  on  the  Highland  Division. 

We  have  no  figures  at  hand  regarding  the  number  of  poles 
used  for  transmitting  electric  power,  nor  the  prices  paid  for  them. 

Lumber.  Most  of  the  lumber  of  the  county  is  used  locally, 
although  some  is  shipped  to  New  York,  Hartford  and  New 
Haven.  Retail  prices  of  native  lumber  in  the  summer  of  1907 
were  as  follows : 

Winsted.  Torrington. 

Chestnut    $25.00  per  M.  $20.00  to  $25.00 

Maple  $20.00  to  25.00  "  15.00  to  18.00 

Oak  25.00  to  40.00  "  20.00  to  25.00 

Hickory  25.00  "  25.00 

Ash   25.00  to  30.00  "  20.00  to  22.00 

Basswood    20.00  "  20.00 

Poplar    25.00  to  40.00  "  25.00  to  35.00 

White  Pine   . . .  25.00  to  75.00  "  25.00  to  75.00 

Hemlock    22.00  to  26.00  "  17.00  to  22.00 

Shingles  and  Posts.  In  a  few  of  the  towns  such  as  Colebrook, 
Kent  and  New  Milford,  shingles  are  made.  One  thousand 
shingles  are  equivalent  to  700  feet  B.  M.  From  Kent  chestnut 
shingles  and  posts  are  shipped  to  New  Haven.  The  posts  bring 
twenty  cents  a  piece,  delivered  in  the  city,  and  the  shingles  $5.00 
per  thousand.  They  are  put  up  in  bunches  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty.     Some  10,000  posts  were  shipped  in  1907  from  Warren. 

Hemlock  Bark.  At  Winsted  George  Douglass  &  Co.  have  a 
bark  tannery  in  which  sheepskins  are  tanned  that  are  used  for 
book  coverings.  They  use  four  hundred  tons  of  bark  a  year, 
purchased  at  $7.00  a  ton.  Bark  weighs  from  1,200  to  2,000 
pounds  per  cord;   average,  1,700  pounds. 

Woodworking  Establishments.  On  the  Blackberry  River  in 
Canaan  there  is  a  mill  where  doors,  window  frames,  sashes, 
blinds,  molding  and  wainscoting  are  made. 

At  Riverton  and  on  the  east  branch  of  the  Torrington  in  Bark- 
hamsted  there  are  woodworking  machines,  and  the  factory  of 
the  Rogers  Rake  Company  is  located  at  Pleasant  Valley.  These 
establishments  make  handles  of  all  kinds,  using  about  all  the 
native  woods.  Beech,  birch  and  maple  are  used  for  handles  and 
backs  of  shoe  brushes,  scrubbing  brushes,  bath  brushes,  and  stove 


24 


CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    1 62. 


brushes.  Whitewood  is  somewhat  used,  but  is  too  soft.  Oak  is 
used  especially  for  bath  brushes.  Chestnut  is  not  used.  Ash  is 
used  for  rake  handles  and  hickory  for  the  teeth  and  bows  of  rakes. 
Brushes  are  made  in  a  factory  at  New  Hartford.  Lumber  for 
this  purpose  is  mostly  purchased  in  two-inch  plank.  Prices  paid 
in  the  summer  of  1907  by  the  Rogers  Rake  Company  were: 

For  beech,  birch,  maple  $14.00  per  M. 

"     ash    20.00    "     " 

"    pine    (square  edge)    I5-C0     "      " 

"    hickory    8.00    "  cord. 

The  pine  is  used  for  cases. 

In  Goshen  the  Gilmark  Brothers  make  barrel  heads,  staves, 
sashes,  windows  and  blinds,  and  use  for  the  purpose  about 
300,000  feet  of  lumber  annually — almost  all  native. 

In  Litchfield  the  Bigelow  Brothers  have  a  handle-turning 
machine,  making  handles  for  chisels,  hammers,  files,  etc. 

In  Watertown  F.  C.  Slathers  &  Co.  have  a  sawmill,  wagon-shop 
and  woodtrimming-mill  at  Oakville.  They  manufacture  delivery 
and  farm  wagons.  The  mill  is  equipped  with  band  and  circular 
saws.  The  principal  woods  used  are  oak,  ash,  hickory  and  elm. 
Elm  is  used  only  for  hubs. 

In  Bethlehem  there  is  a  small  woodturning  shop. 

In  Washington  the  Akman  Brothers  do  a  little  carriage-making, 
using  about  10,000  feet  of  lumber. 

In  Winsted  there  is  a  factory  which  manufactures  piano  stools 
and  benches.  Beech,  birch,  maple  and  a  little  oak  are  used  for 
this  purpose. 

TABLE  IV.— LITCHFIELD  COUNTY. 

Annual  Cut. 


Product. 

Amount. 

Stumpage  Value.* 

Lumber 

16,265,000  ft. 

201,700 

15,600 

145,500  cords 

$97,590 
36,306 
15,000 
87,300 

Ties 

Poles  and  Piles 

Cordwood- 

Total 

$236,196 

See  stumpage  prices  on  page  20. 


LITCHFIELD    COUNTY    SURVEY.  25 

Description  of  the  Toivns  of  Litchfield  County. 

Salisbury.  Percentage  forested,  46.  Salisbury  occupies  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  State  and  contains  the  highest  elevations, 
that  of  Bear  Mountain  in  the  Berkshire  Range  being  2,355  ^^et. 
The  town  is  marked  by  an  extensive  area  of  fairly  level  and  con- 
tinuous farming  land  on  the  south  and  east,  and  a  large  area  of 
woodland  in  the  mountain  region  of  the  northwest.  The  general 
elevation  of  the  valley  is  between  eight  hundred  and  nine  hundred 
feet.  In  the  town  there  are  five  very  beautiful  little  lakes  which 
attract  many  summer  residents.  The  industries  are  mining  and 
smelting  iron  ore,  cutlery  manufacturing  and  a  private  school. 

The  only  woodland  type  of  importance  is  the  mixed  hardwoods. 
The  sandy  nature  of  the  soil  is  well  adapted  to  white  pine,  which 
is  scattered  everywhere  in  the  region,  but  the  stands  of  pure  pine 
are  very  small.  Tamarack  is  found  in  all  the  swamps,  but  it  is 
not  abundant  and  there  are  no  large  trees.  There  are  very  few 
ties  made  in  Salisbury  and  practically  no  charcoal.  Everything 
is  sawed  into  lumber  or  cut  into  wood  for  the  limekiln,  or  for 
stove  wood. 

Canaan  and  North  Canaan.  Percentage  forested,  56.  The 
most  pronounced  physical  features  are  the  "Great  Canaan 
Swamp,"  occupying  the  flood  plain  between  Falls  Village  and 
Canaan ;  and  Canaan  Mountain,  a  great  mass  of  gneiss  and 
schist,  reaching  an  elevation  of  1,927  feet.  The  soil  of  the  low- 
lands is  limey.  The  chief  industries  are  agriculture,  manufac- 
turing pig  iron,  lime  and  hosiery,  and  marble  quarrying. 

The  woodland  is  mostly  of  the  mixed  hardwoods  type,  but  has 
white  pine  scattered  through  it.  On  the  cool  slopes  hemlock  is 
frequent,  and  both  tamarack  and  swamp  white  oak  occur  in  the 
swamps. 

While  charcoal  was  formerly  made  extensively,  there  was  prac- 
tically none  made  in  1907.  Very  few  ties  are  made,  as  most  of 
the  mills  cut  lumber.  Lime  companies  buy  lots  which  have  been 
lumbered  and  cut  off  the  wood.  Most  of  Canaan  Mountain  was 
coaled  off  by  the  Barnum,  Richardson  Company  (which  owns  a 
great  deal  of  land  on  the  mountain)  some  thirty  years  ago. 

Norfolk.  Percentage  forested,  66.  The  region  is  character- 
ized by  numerous  cone-shaped  hills  which  are  of  glacial  forma- 
tion. 


26  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

Norfolk  has  become  a  favorite  resort  of  New  York  people, 
many  of  whom  have  built  fine  homes.  Extensive  areas  acquired 
by  them  are  purposely  being  abandoned,  so  that  there  are  few 
prosperous  farms  left.  The  chief  industries  are  caring  for 
summer  boarders  and  the  manufacture  of  silk  goods. 

There  are  several  small  patches  of  white  pine  in  the  town  and 
a  few  clumps  of  the  Norway  or  red  pine. 

CoLEBROOK.  Percentage  forested,  74.  The  formation  and 
general  character  of  the  land  is  similar  to  that  of  Norfolk.  The 
principal  industry  is  agriculture.  Within  the  last  few  years  the 
town  has  developed  in  a  small  way  into  a  summer  resort. 

Mention  has  already  been  made,  on  page  15,  of  the  fine  tract 
of  virgin  timber  belonging  to  Mr.  Carrington  Phelps.  Some  of 
these  trees  were  found  to  be  from  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  old.  There  are  also  a  few  stands 
of  young  pine,  besides  scattered  trees  throughout.  For  the  most 
part  the  woodland  is  a  mixed  hardwoods  type,  largely  of  chest- 
nut, oak  and  maple. 

Winchester.  Percentage  forested,  55.  Highland  Lake  is 
the  chief  feature  of  the  town  and  has  become  quite  a  summer 
resort.  The  principal  industries  are  farming  in  the  outlying 
districts  and  manufacturing  knit  goods,  clocks,  spool  silks, 
cutlery,  leather  goods  and  a  variety  of  novelty  articles  in  the 
borough. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  young  pine  coming  up  on  the  deserted 
pastures  which  are  making  excellent  stands.  Almost  all  of  the 
wood  growth  is  under  forty  years  old.  Tamarack  occurs  in  a 
few  swamps. 

Barkhamsted.  Percentage  forested,  59.  It  is  a  rough 
country,  composed  chiefly  of  high  ridges  extending  in  a  general 
north  and  south  direction,  the  result  of  the  wearing  away  of  the 
high  plateau  by  the  east  and  west  branches  of  the  Farmington 
River,  which  unite  at  New  Hartford.  The  rock  is  largely  pre- 
Cambrian  gneiss,  with  schist  in  the  eastern  part. 

Barkhamsted  is  a  typical  declining  hill  town,  its  population 
having  decreased  from  1,715  in  1850  to  864  in  1900.  Dairying 
is  the  chief  line  of  farming  pursued,  but  considerable  tobacco  is 
raised  in  parts  of  the  valleys.  This  town,  together  with  the  pre- 
ceding towns,  lies  in  the  southern  extremity  of  the  white  pine 
belt  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  so  there  is  a  sprink- 


LITCHFIELD    COUNTY    SURVEY.  27 

ling  of  pine  on  the  abandoned  land  as  well  as  in  much  of  the  wood- 
land. 

New  Hartford.  Percentage  forested,  59.  The  hills  are  more 
gentle  than  those  of  the  preceding  towns,  and  for  this  reason 
a  large  proportion  was  formerly  under  cultivation.  This  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  only  38  per  cent,  of  the  total  area  is 
now  mixed  hardwoods,  while  21  per  cent,  is  abandoned  field 
type. 

Throughout  the  town  there  are  everywhere  abandoned  farm- 
houses and  the  whole  appearance  indicates  a  declining  condition. 
Dairy  products  form  the  chief  staples  of  the  farm.  In  the  village 
is  a  factory  for  manufacturing  benches,  planes  and  rules. 

The  wood  industries  of  New  Hartford  have  practically  ceased 
to  exist  and  almost  no  cutting  is  now  being  done  in  the  town. 
Two  or  three  large  lots  have  been  recently  cut.  The  town  has 
suffered  from  forest  fires,  especially  in  the  eastern  part,  known 
as  the  "Satan's  Kingdom"  region,  more,  perhaps,  than  any  other 
portion  of  the  county. 

ToRRiNGTON.  Percentage  forested,  64.  It  is  a  rolling  country, 
with  elevations  varying  from  six  hundred  to  one  thousand  three 
hundred  feet.  Due  to  the  increased  manufacturing  in  the 
borough,  the  whole  town  is  fairly  prosperous,  dairy  products  hav- 
ing a  large  home  market.  The  principal  industry  is  the  manu- 
facture of  brass  materials. 

Most  of  the  woodland  is  of  the  mixed  type  under  twenty  years 
of  age,  having  been  cut  ofif  by  the  Coe  Brass  Company,  which 
owns  the  greater  part  of  it.  More  land  has  been  cut  over  recently 
in  Torrington  than  in  any  other  town.  In  the  vicinity  of  Burr- 
ville  there  is  considerable  white  pine. 

Goshen.  Percentage  forested,  52.  It  is  primarily  an  agri- 
cultural community,  relying  on  dairy  products  and  keeping  sum- 
mer boarders.  A  great  deal  of  the  abandoned  field  type  is  covered 
with  hardback,  a  shrub  which  makes  the  land  practically  worthless 
for  pasture  purposes. 

Cornwall.  Percentage  forested,  54.  It  is  a  rough,  hilly 
country  with  beautiful  scenery.  Dairying  and  lumbering  are  now 
practically  the  only  industries. 

There  are  considerable  bodies  of  white  pine  throughout  the 
town  which  give  color  to  the  landscape,  and  mention  has  already 
been  made,  on  page  16,  of  the  magnificent  stand  belonging  to 


2  8  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

Mr.  Calhoun.  As  there  is  no  profit  in  cordwood  except  near 
villages  or  limekilns,  most  of  it  is  left  in  the  woods  after  a  lumber 
job. 

Sharon.  Percentage  forested,  42.  Farming  forms  the  prin- 
cipal industry.  There  is  much  less  pine  in  this  town  than  in 
Cornwall.  Little  lumber  has  been  cut  recently,  most  of  the  wood 
being  used  for  charcoal.  This  is  all  sold  to  the  iron  furnace 
company  at  Lime  Rock,  which  owns  some  two  thousand  acres  in 
Sharon. 

Kent.  Percentage  forested,  50.  The  closing  down  of  the  iron 
furnaces  resulted  in  many  people  leaving  this  town.  The  town 
is  too  far  south  to  send  wood  or  charcoal  to  Canaan,  so  when  the 
iron  furnaces  were  abandoned  land  became  very  cheap.  A  few 
men  picked  up  large  holdings  at  that  time. 

The  northern  end  of  this  town  marks  the  southern  extension 
of  the  forest  type  so  common  in  the  previous  towns,  which  was 
characterized  by  a  considerable  mixture  of  white  pine  and  paper 
birch.  Most  of  the  tops  resulting  from  lumbering  are  here  left 
in  the  woods.  Considerable  chestnut  is  used  for  making  shingles 
and  some  for  posts,  but  ties  and  lumber  are  the  principal  products 
of  the  woodlots. 

Warren.  Percentage  forested,  45.  The  character  of  the 
country  is  similar  to  Kent,  but  somewhat  less  rugged  on  the  east. 
In  the  southwest  corner  is  Lake  Waramaug,  which  is  quite  a 
summer  resort.  The  character  of  the  woodland  and  the  market 
conditions  are  the  same  as  for  Kent. 

Litchfield.  Percentage  forested,  46.  It  is  rightly  famous, 
not  only  for  its  beautiful  scenery  but  for  its  village,  which  is 
one  of  the  finest  in  New  England,  with  its  rows  of  elm  trees  over- 
hanging old,  colonial  houses.  The  country  is  somewhat  more 
open  than  in  the  preceding  towns.  Bantam  Lake,  which  is  partly 
in  Litchfield  and  partly  in  Morris,  is  a  favorite  summer  resort. 
Dairying  and  keeping  summer  boarders  are  the  chief  lines  of 
industry. 

Harwinton.  Percentage  forested,  52.  It  is  an  open,  rolling 
country,  with  a  good  many  dairy  farms.  There  is  practically  no 
other  industry.  In  the  forest  section  tributary  to  the  brass 
factories  wood  has  an  average  stumpage  value  of  $1.00  a  cord. 

Plymouth.  Percentage  forested,  50.  This  town  is  similar  in 
character  to  New  Haven  County.  The  numerous  flat-topped  open 
hills  make  desirable  dairy  farms. 


LITCHFIELD    COUNTY    SURVEY.  29 

Thomaston.  Percentage  forested,  55.  The  elevation  varies 
from  one  hundred  to  nine  hundred  feet  above  sea  level.  Agri- 
culture and  manufacturing  are  the  principal  industries. 

Watertown.  Percentage  forested,  35.  This  is  principally 
a  farm  country,  dairying  and  truck  gardening  being  the  chief  lines 
of  industry. 

Morris.  Percentage  forested,  36.  Besides  numerous  summer 
boarders  the  Columbia  School  of  Surveying  spends  the  summer 
here. 

Bethlehem.     Percentage  forested,  30. 

Washington.  Percentage  forested,  34.  This  town  is  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  of  the  county,  and  is,  accordingly,  a  popular 
summer  resort.  In  the  village  are  two  large  private  schools. 
Elevations  extend  from  four  hundred  to  one  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  feet,  the  summit  of  Mount  Tom. 

Since  the  introduction  of  portable  mills  the  water  mills  have 
been  reduced  to  an  insignificant  business  of  a  custom  nature. 
About  i860  there  was  in  this  region  an  extensive  business  in 
the  manufacture  of  tool  handles  from  hickory  for  the  California 
miners.    These  were  shipped  around  the  Horn. 

New  Milford.  Percentage  forested,  36.  This  is  the  largest 
town  in  the  county.  For  the  most  part  the  region  consists  of  roll- 
ing, flat-topped  ridges  and  peaks,  many  of  which  are  entirely 
cultivable.  The  principal  industries  are  agriculture,  dairying  and 
tobacco  growing,  tobacco  packing,  manufacture  of  hats  and 
upholstery,  lime  burning  and  making  silica  paints. 

A  good  many  chestnut  and  hemlock  shingles  are  made  in  this 
town,  but  no  charcoal.  All  the  wood  which  is  not  used  for 
domestic  purposes  goes  to  the  New  England  Limekiln  Company 
at  Boardman's  Bridge. 

Bridgewater.  Percentage  forested,  30.  This  is  a  srhall  town 
southeast  of  New  Milford  and  similar  to  it  in  character. 

RoxBURY.  Percentage  forested,  43.  This  town  is  similar  in 
character  to  Bridgewater  and  Washington.  There  are  no  eleva- 
tions over  one  thousand  feet. 

Woodbury.  Percentage  forested,  46.  It  is  a  rolling  country, 
with  few  hills  over  seven  hundred  feet  high.  Dairying  is 
practically  the  only  industry.  A  large  amount  of  wood  cut  in  this 
town  is  used  by  the  rolling  mills  of  W^aterbury.  The  market  for 
charcoal  is  also  somewhat  better  than  formerly. 


NEW  HAVEN  COUNTY. 
Introductory. 

In  the  spring  of  1907  a  study  of  the  forests  in  New  Haven 
County,  Connecticut,  was  undertaken  by  the  Junior  class  of  the 
Yale  Forest  School  as  a  part  of  their  field  work.  The  county 
was  divided  into  sections,  based  usually  on  township  lines,  and 
a  section  alloted  to  each  member  of  the  class.  The  field  work 
consisted  in  mapping  the  open  areas  and  the  forest  land  accord- 
ing to  various  types,  in  roughly  estimating  the  amount  of  standing 
timber,  and  in  gathering  infoniiation  which  might  bear  on  the 
forest  conditions  in  the  territory. 

This  report  is  based  on  the  data  thus  gathered,  supplemented 
by  personal  trips  of  the  writer  throughout  the  county.  Inasmuch 
as  the  mapping  and  estimating  were  done  by  students,  in  con- 
nection with  one  of  their  courses  and  with  the  primary  object 
of  giving  them  training  in  such  work,  the  same  accuracy  must 
not  be  expected  as  if  men  already  trained  had  been  employed.  It 
is  believed,  however,  that  a  correct  report  on  existing  conditions 
has  been  secured,  and  one  sufficiently  accurate  for  us  to  see  clearly 
the  forest  problems  which  this  region  presents. 

New  Haven  County  must  be  classed  as  a  manufacturing  county. 
With  such  cities  as  Waterbury,  New  Haven  and  Meriden  within 
its  limits,  besides  a  number  of  smaller  ones,  the  manufacturing 
interests  necessarily  predominate.  As  in  other  sections  of  New 
England,  the  range  of  articles  manufactured  is  wide.  Most  of 
the  manufacturing  plants  require  wood  in  one  form  or  another. 
In  the  brick  yards,  for  example,  wood  serves  as  fuel ;  in  tool 
factories  it  is  often  used  to  form  the  handles.  Even  those  indus- 
tries which  do  not  need  wood  in  the  manufacture  of  their  product, 
usually  need  it  in  the  form  of  boxes  or  crates  for  shipping  pur- 
poses. In  the  coming  years  these  plants,  as  well  as  lumber  dealers, 
must  depend  more  and  more  on  local  timber. 

Location  and  Physiographic  Features. 

New  Haven  County  lies  in  southern  central  Connecticut,  with 
New  Haven  its  county  seat.  On  the  south  Long  Island  Sound 
forms  a  natural  boundary,  while  the  Housatonic  River  on  the 


NEW    HAVEN    COUNTY    SURVEY.  3 1 

west  and  the  Hammonasset  River  on  part  of  the  eastern  side  serve 
similar  purposes.  But  to  the  north  and  northeast  a  much  broken 
line,  not  determined  by  natural  factors,  bounds  the  county. 

The  drainage  system  is  in  general  from  north  to  south.  Small 
rivers  with  parallel  courses  emptying  into  the  Sound  drain  the 
eastern  half  of  the  county.  In  the  western  half  the  water  is 
carried  off  by  a  more  complex  system,  made  up  of  the  Housatonic 
and  its  tributary,  the  Naugatuck,  both  rising  far  north  of  the 
territory  studied. 

For  our  purpose  the  underlying  rock  may  be  classified  as 
follows:  (i)  ridges  and  isolated  hills  of  trap  rock,  (2)  soft  sedi- 
mentary rocks,  and  (3)  various  metamorphic  rocks  less  hard  than 
the  trap  rock.  Except  for  a  few  small  areas,  the  western  half  of 
the  county  is  underlaid  with  rocks  of  class  three.  Similar  rocks 
occupy  the  southeastern  corner.  The  remaining  section,  i.  e., 
a  belt  through  the  central  eastern  part,  has  a  base  of  sandstone. 
The  trap  rock,  less  abundant  than  either  of  the  other  two  types, 
appears  chiefly  as  ranges  of  hills  near  the  east  and  west  borders 
of  the  standstone  belt.  (For  further  details  see  Preliminary 
Geological  Map  of  Connecticut,  by  H.  E.  Gregory  and  H.  H. 
Robinson,  issued  as  Bulletin  No.  7  of  the  State  Geological  and 
Natural  History  Survey  of  Connecticut.) 

These  classes  of  rock  exert  influence  on  the  forest  problems 
of  the  region;  not  so  much  through  their  direct  effect  on  the 
composition  and  character  of  the  forest  (which  can  be  shown 
only  in  a  general  way),  as  by  controlling  quite  extensively  the 
development  of  the  county  along  industrial  and  agricultural  lines, 
and  thus,  indirectly,  affecting  forest  conditions.  For  instance, 
the  trap  ridges,  steep  and  rugged  in  character  and  usually  with 
thin  soil,  as  a  class  are  practically  worthless  for  agriculture  and 
should  be  devoted  to  forestry.  On  the  other  hand,  almost  the 
opposite  condition  would  hold  for  the  sandstone  area. 

Quite  naturally  the  topography  follows  the  main  geological 
divisions.  The  sandstone  area  stretching  from  New  Haven  north- 
ward is  gently  rolling  country,  rising  gradually  from  sea  level 
to  about  three  hundred  feet,  and  is  distinctly  lower  than  the 
land  adjoining  its  east  and  west  sides.  From  this  lowland  the 
trap  hills  rise  abruptly  several  hundred  feet  above  the  general 
level.  One  of  the  Hanging  Hills  of  Meriden  at  the  north,  attain- 
ing over  one  thousand  feet  elevation,  is  the  highest  point  in  the 


32  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

county.  Throughout  the  remainder  of  the  county,  namely,  the 
western  half  and  the  southeastern  section,  the  county  is  more 
broken  than  in  the  lowland.  Rising  from  the  seacoast,  with  salt 
marshes  along  the  rivers,  the  land  surface  northward  becomes 
rougher,  especially  along  the  larger  streams,  which  have  in  some 
cases  developed  deep,  steep-sided  valleys.  As  a  rule,  in  the  west- 
ern section  the  tops  of  the  hills  are  fairly  level  and  are  often 
cultivated. 

A  good  many  fresh-water  swamps  occur,  not  only  in  the  more 
level  towns  near  the  coast,  but  all  through  the  hill  section  as  well. 
Their  presence  is  due  to  the  debris  left  as  a  result  of  glacial 
action  which  interfered  with  the  local  drainage  of  the  land.  The 
soils  also  show  the  effect  of  such  action,  being  as  a  rule  very 
stony.  Over  the  sandstone  area  the  soils  are  often  free  from 
stones.  They  vary  through  the  country  from  nearly  pure  sands 
to  clay  soils.  Along  the  valley  of  the  Quinnipiac  extensive  sand 
plains  are  found  having  soils  of  exceedingly  poor  quality. 

Agricultural  Land. 

The  mapping  shows  that  54  per  cent,  is  agricultural  land.  This 
agricultural  land  varies  greatly  in  character  from  level,  rich, 
truck  garden  land,  worth  from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred 
dollars  an  acre,  to  farms  so  stony,  poor-soiled  or  rough  as  to  be 
sold  for  twenty  to  thirty  dollars  per  acre.  Cleared  land  which 
cannot  command  this  lowest  price  is  usually  too  poor  to  farm 
profitably  under  present  conditions  and  is  reverting  to  forest. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  larger  towns  and  cities  farm  land  is 
devoted  largely  to  the  raising  of  garden  truck  and  small  fruits. 
Back  from  the  centers  of  population  dairying  takes  precedence 
over  other  types  of  farming.  As  carried  on  here  the  dairy  farm 
requires  a  considerable  acreage  in  pasture,  and  besides  the  open 
fields  a  woodlot  is  often  used  for  this  purpose  to  the  detriment  of 
the  latter. 

The  growing  of  fruit,  principally  peaches,  receives  an  increas- 
ing amount  of  attention.  It  promises  to  be  profitable.  Forty 
years  ago  large  quantities  of  apples  were  grown,  as  is  shown  by 
the  orchards  of  decrepit  apple  trees  scattered  abundantly  over 
the  hill  farms.  But  comparatively  few  young  apple  orchards 
are  found. 


NEW    HAVEN    COUNTY    SURVEY.  33 

Forest  Lands. 
Of  the  total  area  in  the  county  46  per  cent,  is  classed 
as  forested.  In  the  two  types  mapped  by  ag'e  classes,  young 
timber  predominates.  The  following  figures  show  in  per  cent,  of 
the  total  acreage  of  these  t3^pes  the  relative  acreage  occupied  by 
each  of  the  age  classes : 

Age  Class.  Per  cent. 

1-20  years  27 

21-40      ■'  43 

41-60       '  22 

61-80      " 6 

8i-up      "  2 

Table  II  gives  the  areas  covered  by  each  type  arranged  accord- 
ing to  age  classes. 

Around  New  Haven  and  near  the  larger  towns  the  timber 
averages  younger  than  in  the  remoter  districts  in  the  eastern  and 
western  ends  of  the  county.  In  the  latter  sections  the  markets 
for  cordwood  and  small-sized  materials  are  comparatively  poor, 
a  fact  which  tends  to  increase  the  age  at  which  timber  is  con- 
sidered ready  to  cut. 

1.  Among  the  forest  types  the  mixed  hardwoods  type  is  by 
far  the  most  important,  including  as  it  does  76  per  cent,  of  the 
forested  area,  with  a  widespread  distribution.  Chestnut  and  the 
oaks,  white,  chestnut,  red  and  black,  growing  in  mixture  form  the 
bulk  of  the  timber  and  characterize  the  type.  Oftentimes  chest- 
nut grows  almost  alone  over  considerable  areas.  Hickory 
abounds  in  the  southern  end  of  the  county,  but  elsewhere  is  not 
commercially  abundant.  All  these  species  grow  on  the  hills  and 
well-drained  sites.  In  the  swamps  and  low,  moist  lands  occupied 
by  the  mixed  hardwoods  type  other  species  prevail,  such  as  soft 
maple,  which  frequently  grows  alone  in  dense  stands,  whitewood, 
black  birch  and  ash.  The  timber  in  the  swamps  is  of  less  value, 
acre  for  acre,  than  the  upland  timber.  Moreover,  it  covers  only 
a  small  portion  of  the  mixed  hardwoods  area. 

About  8  per  cent,  of  the  area  in  this  type  is  occupied  by  timber 
over  sixty  years  of  age,  while  approximately  only  one  quarter  of 
one  per  cent,  bears  timber  over  one  hundred  years  old. 

2.  The  white  pine  type,  composed  of  stands  of  pure  white 
pine,  covers  a  little  over  one  tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  forested 
area.     This  type,  at  present,  is  of  no  importance  commercially, 

3 


34  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

but,  scattered  broadly  throughout  the  county  in  little  patches  on 
sandy  or  gravelly  soil,  it  shows  conclusively  that  white  pine  will 
grow  and  thrive  in  this  region.  The  knowledge  is  of  value, 
because  landowners  are  beginning  to  plant  their  abandoned  fields 
to  forest  trees,  and  are  wondering  whether  or  not  white  pine  can 
be  safely  planted.  Within  the  next  ten  years  the  area  covered  by 
this  type  will  increase  considerably. 

The  upper  age  classes  are  proportionately  better  represented 
than  is  the  case  in  the  mixed  hardwoods  type.  The  pine  stands 
range  in  age  from  one  to  one  hundred  years,  45  per  cent, 
being  over  sixty  years  of  age. 

3.  Abandoned  field  type.  The  characteristic  species  in  this 
type  are  two,  red  cedar  and  gray  birch.  These  two  are  the  first 
to  seize  possession  of  a  field  after  its  abandonment.  If  a  field 
was  used  as  meadow  or  pasture  immediately  before  being 
abandoned,  red  cedar  is  likely  to  precede  gray  birch  and  to  come 
in  the  most  thickly  of  the  two.  But  where  the  field  had  been 
plowed  the  year  before  abandonment,  gray  birch  often  comes  in 
first  and  as  thickly  as  a  crop  of  grain.  Other  trees  slowly  follow 
the  birch  and  cedar. 

Some  of  the  abandoned  fields  are  already  so  thickly  stocked 
with  trees  as  to  resemble  the  mixed  hardwoods  type  of  forest. 
The  distinguishing  difference  is  the  presence  of  red  cedar  or  gray 
birch,  forming  together  80  per  cent,  of  the  stand.  Usually,  how- 
ever, the  fields  are  partially  stocked  with  trees  exhibiting  a  wide 
range  of  age,  from  seedlings  to  those  which  started  in  the  first 
years  after  the  field  was  abandoned.  Fields  can  be  found  which 
have  been  abandoned  for  over  eighty  years  and  are  not  yet  com- 
pletely covered  with  trees. 

Besides  the  four  already  given,  two  other  types  might  have 
been  distinguished. 

First,  one  including  stands  composed  chiefly  of  hemlocks. 
Over  any  area  sufficiently  large  to  be  conveniently  mapped  hem- 
lock rarely  grows  in  pure  stands,  although  small  patches  of  pure 
hemlock  occur.  Usually  the  hemlock  is  mixed  with  various  hard- 
wood trees.  For  this  reason  the  stands  containing  hemlock  were 
mapped  with  the  mixed  hardwoods  type.  A  record,  however,  was 
kept  of  tracts  containing  40  per  cent,  or  more  of  hemlock,  which 
shows  that  approximately  twenty-five  hundred  acres  of  this 
character  of  woodland  occurs  within  the  countv. 


NEW    HAVEN    COUNTY    SURVEY. 


35 


The  second  comprises  the  open  swamps,  which  contain  a  con- 
siderable mixture  of  white  cedar  (Chamcecyparis  thy  aides). 
Mixed  with  the  cedar,  soft  maple  and  some  other  hardwoods 
occur.  The  white  cedar  is  the  most  valuable  tree  in  such  stands 
and  the  big  trees  have  been  largely  culled  out.  This  gives  an 
advantage  to  the  soft  maple  and  other  hardwoods  which  are  less 
heavily  cut,  enabling  them  in  the  long  run  to  supercede  the  cedar 
and  establish  a  hardwood  stand.  For  this  reason,  and  because 
only  a  small  area  (about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres) 
bears  cedar,  the  swamps  containing  it  were  thrown  into  the  mixed 
hardwoods  type. 

TABLE  I.— NEW  HAVEN  COUNTY. 
Classification  of  Areas. 


Area  in  Acres. 

Per  cent,  of 
Total  Area. 

Agricultural  : 

Including  land  in  towns  and  cities,  lakes, 
ponds,  large  rivers  and  salt  marshes  .... 

Forest : 

Mixed  Hardwoods  Type 

White  Pine  Type 

Abandoned  Field  Type 

213,521 

140,807 
233 
«'°^^       184,126 

54 
46 

Total  Area  of  New  Haven  Count}^ 

397,647 

100 

TABLE    n.— NEW  HAVEN  COUNTY. 
Showing  Forested  Area  According  to  Age  Classes  and  Types. 


Type. 

Age  in  Years. 

Acres. 

Mixed  Hardwoods 

1-20 

37,782 

21-40 

61,086 

41-60 

30,413 

61-80 

7,745 

81-100 

3,394 

loi-up 

387 

140,807 

White  Pine 

1-20 

22 

21-40 

69 

41-60 

36 

* 

61-80 

73 

81-100 

33 

233 

Abandoned  Field     

All  ages 

43,086 

Total 

184,126 

36 


CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    1 62. 


Timber  Estimates. 

The  total  number  of  ties  in  the  county  is  estimated  at  4,359,000 
(See  Table  III),  and  the  total  number  of  cords  at  2,808,000, 
which  latter  figure  includes  the  ties. 

Although  no  careful  estimate  was  made  of  the  lumber,  yet 
from  general  observations  and  deductions  the  amount  of  standing 
lumber  is  placed  at  not  less  than  25,000,000  feet,  board  measure, 
exclusive  of  the  tie  estimate.  Most  of  the  timber  estimated  as 
ties  could  be  sawed  into  lumber  if  desired.  This  figure  does  not 
include  the  timber  in  the  white  pine  type.  The  estimate  for  this 
type  was  made  only  in  lumber,  and  shows  a  total  of  4,350,000 
feet,  board  measure,  of  white  pine. 

TABLE  III.— NEW  HAVEN  COUNTY. 

Showing  Amount  of  Standing  Timber  in  Cords  and  Ties  by  Age 

Classes  and  Forest  Types. 


Type. 

Age  in  Years. 

Cords. 

Ties. 

M.  B.  M. 
Feet. 

Mixed  Hardwoods 

White  Pine 

1-20 
21-40 
41-60 
61-80 
81-100 
lOI  up 
21-40 
41-60 
61-80 
81-100 

All  ages 

226,000 
1,178,000 
761,000 
282,000 
109,090 
16,000 

236,000 

40,000 

1,706,000 

1,722,000 

682,000 

172,000 

16,000 

21,000 

400 

2,500 

900 

Abandoned  Field 

Total 

2,808,000 

4,359.000 

4.350 

Summary  of  Yield  of  184,126  Acres. 
All  trees  cut  into  cordwood  2,808,000  cords. 


All  chestnut  and  oak  cut  into  ties  4,359.ooo  ties. 

The  rest  cordwood   2,538,000  cords. 


Chestnut  and  oak  cut  into  lumber  140,000,000  feet  B.  M. 

Birch,  maple,  ash,  pine,  and  other  lumber 26,000,000     "        " 

The  rest  cordwood 2,488,000  cords. 

These  figures  may  be  converted  into  values  by  using  stumpage 
prices  for  the  various  prod.ucts.  The  stumpage  prices,  especially 
for  cordwood,  vary  considerably  in  different  parts  of  the  county, 


NEW    HAVEN    COUNTY    SURVEY.  37 

depending-  on  the  location  with  reference  to  markets.     The  fol- 
lowing figures  are  considered  average : 

Lumber 

White   Pine    $10.00  per  M.  ft.  B.  M.  on  the  stump 

Other    species    7.00     "      "     "       "         "      "        '' 

Ties    20  apiece  "     "        " 

Cordwood    75  per  cord  "     "        " 

In  order  to  make  a  complete  money  estimate  of  the  standing 
timber  it  is  necessary  to  deduct  the  wood  contained  in  lumber  and 
ties  from  the  total  amount  of  cordwood.  An  allowance  of  320,000 
cords  is  made  for  these  items,  leaving  the  number  of  cords,  less 
ties  and  lumber,  at  2,488,000. 

The  money  value  of  the  timber  is,  then : 

Lumber 

White  Pine  $    ^43,000.00 

Other  Species  175,000.00 

Ties    872,000.00 

Cordwood    1,866,000.00 

Total   $2,956,000.00 

These  figures  may  seem  to  some  people  surprisingly  high  for  a 
county  commonly  supposed  to  contain  little  or  no  timber.  But 
it  should  be  remembered  that  under  present  methods  of  lumber- 
ing small  sized  logs  are  taken  to  the  mills  and  utilized. 

The  Annual  Timber  Cut  of  the  County. 

There  are  a  very  large  number  of  mills  operating  in  the  county. 
Approximately  forty-five  stationary  mills  do  some  sawing  each 
year.  Many  of  them  run  but  a  few  days  in  the  year,  while  the 
average  amount  sawed  by  each  mill  is  far  below  that  sawed  by  the 
portable  mills.  About  forty  portable  mills  were  operating  in  the 
county  the  year  the  figures  were  taken.  Undoubtedly  the  number 
varies  considerably  from  year  to  year,  as  a  mill  may  be  sawing  in 
New  Haven  County  one  year  and  in  another  county  the  next  year. 

The  lumber  and  ties  sawed  by  these  mills  in  an  average  year 
are  included  in  Table  IV,  together  with  the  cut  of  poles,  piles, 
cordwood  and  hewn  ties.  Large  quantities  of  minor  products, 
such  as  fence  posts,  charcoal,  etc.,  are  harvested  every  year.  It 
was,  however,  impossible  to  secure  satisfactory  data  on  any  but 
the  major  products. 


38 


CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 


(The  value  of  the  minor  products  probably  raises  the  total 
stumpage  value  of  the  annual  cut  to  approximately  $200,000.) 

TABLE  IV.— NEW  HAVEN  COUNTY. 
Annual  Cut. 


Product. 

Amount. 

Stumpage  Value. 

Lumber 

10,000,000  ft. 
200,000 
5,000 

90,000  cords 

*  $70,000 

40,000 

5,000 

67,500 

Ties 

Poles  and  Piles 

Cordwood 

Total 

$182,500 

*  Stumpage  values  per  unit  of  product  have  been  already  given  in  the 
section  on  "  Estimate  of  the  Standing  Timber." 

Outlook  for  the  Fiitiire  Supply. 

Can  the  present  rate  of  cutting  be  continued  indefinitely  with- 
out exhausting  the  wood  supplies  of  the  county?  An  answer  to 
this  question  is  best  secured  by  comparing  the  annual  cut  with 
the  amount  added  annually  to  the  forest  by  growth  and  noting 
the  relation  of  these  two  factors  to  the  present  estimated  stand. 
For  the  purpose  of  this  comparison  figures  for  the  annual  cut, 
growth  and  total  stand  are  given  in  cords,  as  in  this  unit  the  total 
amount  of  wood  can  be  better  represented  than  in  the  form  of 
ties  and  lumber. 

The  annual  cut,  as  already  given  for  the  year  1906-7,  was  as 
follows : 

Cordwood    90,000  cords. 

Lumber  (figured  in  cords)  20,000      " 

Ties  "        "       "  9,000      " 

Poles   and   Piles         "        "       "  1,000      " 


Total  120,000      " 

The  annual  growth  on  all  types  of  forest  land,  including  the 
abandoned  field  type,  averages  .38  cords  per  acre,  or  a  total  of 
70,000  cords.  The  large  area  of  partially  open  fields  in  the 
abandoned  field  type,  as  well  as  many  repeatedly  burned  over  and 
badly  damaged  stands  in  the  mixed  hardwoods  type,  bring  down 
the  average  rate  of  growth.  Thus  the  amount  cut  each  year 
exceeds  the  growth  by  50,000  cords. 


NEW    HAVEN    COUNTY  SURVEY.  39 

The  total  estimated  stand  for  the  county  was,  in  round  num- 
bers, 2,800,000  cords,  of  which  about  1,200,000  cords  were  found 
in  tracts  averaging  forty  years  in  age  or  over.  This  latter  figure 
may  be  considered  as  the  present  amount  of  merchantable  timber 
available  for  cutting  in  the  next  few  years.  Each  year  the  annual 
growth  increases  the  supply  on  hand  while  the  annual  cut 
decreases  it. 

If  the  cut  and  the  growth  remain  at  the  present  figures  the 
supply  of  merchantable  timber  will  be  exhausted  in  about  twenty 
years.  At  the  end  of  that  period  there  will  be  a  large  amount  of 
wood  standing  in  the  county,  but  it  will  be  altogether  in  tracts 
under  forty  years  of  age,  containing  wood  below  the  most  profit- 
able size  for  cutting.  Cordwood  could  still  be  cut,  but  supplies  of 
the  most  profitable  products,  like  ties  and  lumber,  would  be  prac- 
tically exhausted. 

Two  methods  of  preventing  such  a  calamity  present  themselves. 
First,  to  reduce  the  amount  of  the  annual  cut.  Financially  this 
would  be  poor  policy  and  in  all  probability  could  not  be  done, 
for  the  reason  that  the  demands  for  wood  throughout  the  country 
are  increasing  while  the  supplies  are  diminishing.  Important 
lumber  regions  are  already  on  the  point  of  exhaustion,  and  with 
the  lessening  output  from  the  chief  timber  regions  the  local  supply 
in  each  case  comes  more  and  more  into  demand.  Hence  the 
tendency  will  be  during  the  next  twenty  years  to  increase  rather 
than  lessen  the  cut  in  New  Haven  County. 

The  second  method  to  prevent  exhaustion  of  the  supply  is  by 
increasing  the  annual  growth  of  the  forest  lands.  At  the  present 
time,  through  mismanagement  and  injuries  by  fire  and  grazing, 
the  forest  areas  as  a  whole  are  producing  much  less  than  is  pos- 
sible under  the  proper  treatment. 

To  raise  the  productive  power  of  a  forest  which,  has  been 
abused  is  a  slow,  gradual  process.  For  the  first  ten  years  the 
increased  growth  would  be  small,  afterward  gradually  rising.  If 
the  next  forty  years  are  considered  as  forming  one  period,  it  is 
reasonable  to  expect  that  the  growth  could  be  increased  so  as  to 
average  annually  during  the  period  .65  cords  per  acre,  or  approxi- 
mately 120,000  cords  for  the  county. 

To  obtain  this  increase  it  would  be  necessary  to  follow  out  the 
general  lines  of  treatment  advised  earlier  in  the  report  for  the 
different  types,  including  the  planting  up  of  abandoned  fields. 


40  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    1 62. 

Open  or  partially  stocked  land,  and  protection  for  all  types  against 
fire  and  grazing.  Fire  protection  is  now  the  one  thing  most 
needed. 

Were  the  forest  lands  in  the  county  all  protected  and  handled 
conservatively,  the  annual  growth  would  be  sufficiently  increased 
as  to  equal  the  annual  cut  and  thus  permit  of  continuous  cutting 
at  the  present  rate.  If  the  annual  cut  were  increased  the  growth 
would  not  be  sufficient  to  offset  it.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the 
long  run  the  growth  under  the  best  methods  of  treatment  could 
be  increased  beyond  the  figures  given. 

The  large  numbers  of  owners  among  whom  the  woodlands  are 
divided  render  it  improbable  that  concerted  action  will  be  taken 
toward  better  treatment  of  the  forest  lands.  Many  individuals, 
however,  are  already  handling  their  holdings  conservatively. 
Throughout  the  county  the  outlook  in  general  points  to  a  steady 
increasing  number  of  such  owners,  so  that  finally  they  may  come 
to  predominate. 

Notes  on  Individual  Towns. 

Ansonia.  Percentage  forested,  50.  The  forested  area  is 
restricted  to  the  hills  composing  the  eastern  third  of  the  town  and 
to  the  northwestern  corner.  Nearness  to  the  city  of  Ansonia 
has  resulted  in  heavy  cutting  of  the  forest  lands  and  young  stands 
are  the  rule.  On  Sundays  and  holidays  the  woods  are  full  of 
mill  hands,  who  cause  many  forest  fires.  As  a  consequence  of 
these  fires  the  woodlands  are  fast  deteriorating. 

Beacon  Falls.  Percentage  forested,  59.  The  gorge  of  the 
Naugatuck  River,  which  cuts  the  town  into  two  parts,  is  the 
principal  topographic  feature.  -This  town  is  one  of  steep  slopes 
and  deep,  narrow  valleys,  with  hills  reaching  a  height  of  about 
seven  hundred  feet.  No  swamp  land  and  but  one  natural  pond 
occur  within  the  area. 

While  a  considerable  portion  is  classed  as  open  land,  it  is 
largely  meadow,  pasture  and  orchard,  with  but  a.  small  percentage 
of  plowed  fields.  The  forest  lies  on  such  steep  slopes  and  shallow 
soils  that  growth  is  slow.  Heavy  cuttings  have  taken  out  the 
large  timber,  so  that  now  stands  under  twenty  years  of  age  pre- 
dominate. Occasional  forest  fires  do  great  damage  to  the  wood- 
lands. 


NEW    HAVEN    COUNTY    SURVEY.  4I 

Bethany.  Percentage  forested,  65.  On  the  eastern  and 
western  sides  the  town  of  Bethany  is  nearly  all  wooded,  while 
through  the  center  runs  a  belt  of  rolling  land  which  is  largely 
farmed.  A  relatively  high  amount  of  lumber  is  now  cut  each  year, 
compared  to  adjoining  towns.  Owing  to  the  location  of  the 
town,  back  from  railroads  and  distant  from  large  markets,  con- 
siderable large  timber  still  remains  standing.  During  late  years 
there  have  been  but  few  fires  in  the  forests,  which  are  usually  in 
thrifty  condition,  except  for  their  need  of  thinnings. 

Branford.  Percentage  forested,  35.  The  forests  of  Branford 
are  in  small  holdings  much  broken  up  by  fields.  Along  the  sea- 
coast  the  timber-lands  are  coming  into  the  hands  of  wealthy  men 
who  take  care  of  their  woods.  Here  can  be  found  the  bulk  of  the 
mature  timber,  though  it  is  not  abundant.  Elsewhere  stands  over 
fifty  years  are  exceptional.  The  damage  caused  by  fires  is  com- 
paratively slight.  Those  occurring  tend  to  be  along  the  railroad 
line.  Nearness  to  the  New  Haven  markets  results  in  good  prices 
for  wood. 

Cheshire.  Percentage  forested,  45.  Two  distinct  types  of 
country  are  found  in  Cheshire ;  one,  forming  the  western  border 
of  the  township,  is  mountainous  and  well  wooded,  while  the 
eastern  and  central  districts  are  comparatively  level,  with  fertile 
soils,  and,  therefore,  devoted  to  agriculture.  Here  the  forest  is 
in  the  shape  of  isolated  woodlots  and  the  old  pasture  type  pre- 
dominates. In  the  mountainous  section  a  practically  continuous 
belt  of  timber  occupies  the  land,  which  does  not  show  signs  of 
ever  having  been  cleared. 

Damage  by  fire,  while  in  evidence,  is  not  so  widespread  as  in 
many  other  towns.  The  town  is  fairly  well  located  with  respect 
to  markets,  being  crossed  by  several  steam  or  trolley  roads  and 
lying  within  reach  of  such  cities  as  New  Haven,  Meriden  and 
Waterbury. 

Derby.  Percentage  forested,  42.  The  city  of  Derby  with  its 
suburbs  occupies  the  greater  part  of  the  area.  In  the  north- 
western and  in  the  southwestern  ends  large  areas  of  forest  occur. 
The  growth  is  under  forty  years  of  age  and  most  of  it  much 
younger.  Damage  by  fire  is  excessive.  Forest  fires  are  usually 
set  on  Sundays  and  holidays  by  boys  and  mill  hands. 

A  ready  market  exists  for  even  the  smallest  classes  of  wood. 


42  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

East  Haven.  Percentage  forested,  31.  With  the  exception 
of  Saltonstall  Ridge  and  the  territory  near  Rabbit  Rock,  both  of 
which  regions  are  continuously  wooded,  the  forests  of  East 
Haven  town  occur  as  isolated  woodlots.  Those  in  the  central 
and  southern  portions  of  the  town  serve  to  supply  East  Haven 
and  Fair  Haven  with  wood. 

Forest  fires  have  been  troublesome  on  Saltonstall  Ridge  and  in 
the  woodlands  to  the  Avest  of  the  ridge.  This  is  owing  to  the 
ease  with  which  these  places  can  be  reached  from  the  city  by 
careless  pleasure  seekers,  who  often  set  fires. 

Guilford.  Percentage  forested,  57.  The  northern-central 
and  southwestern  portions  of  the  town  are  largely  under  cultiva- 
tion; elsewhere  extensive  blocks  of  forest  prevail.  Fires,  unfor- 
tunately, are  of  common  occurrence.  They  decrease  in  number 
as  the  remoter  parts  of  the  town  toward  the  north  are  approached. 
In  the  southern  half  of  the  territory  good  markets  exist,  centering 
in  Guilford  town.  Throughout  the  northern  half,  however, 
owing  to  lack  of  local  markets  and  distance  from  railroad  lines, 
owners  are  at  a  disadvantage  in  selling  wood. 

Hamden.  Percentage  forested,  52.  The  south-central  and 
eastern  parts  lie  in  an  excellent  agricultural  region  devoted  to 
truck  farming  and  dairying.  The  forest,  occurring  in  small 
blocks,  covers  only  a  small  percentage  of  the  area.  Rough,  hilly 
land,  usually  underlaid  with  trap  rock,  characterizes  the  northern 
and  western  portions  of  the  town,  comprising  nearly  two-thirds 
of  the  total  area.  The  slopes  here  are  so  steep  and  the  ground 
so  stony  as  to  prevent  their  use  for  farming.  Consequently, 
except  along  the  valleys,  unbroken  woodland  exists.  Excellent 
transportation  facilities  are  afforded  by  the  trolley  and  steam  rail- 
road lines  which  run  northward  through  the  town.  The  south- 
ern part  of  the  town  is  within  easy  hauling  distance  of  New 
Haven.  On  West  Rock  Ridge  forest  fires  are  a  great  menace  to 
woodlands.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  south  end,  over  which 
pleasure  seekers  from  New  Haven  are  fond  of  walking. 

Madison.  Percentage  forested,  63.  Farm  land  predominates 
in  the  southern  fourth  of  the  town,  but  northward  the  forest 
occurs  in  nearly  unbroken  distribution.  The  stony  nature  of  the 
soil  accounts  largely  for  this  arrangement.  Red  and  white  oaks 
and  chestnut  are  the  chief  trees.  Along  the  Hammonasset  River 
on  swampy  lands  considerable  white  cedar  grows  to  merchantable 
size. 


NEW    HAVEN    COUNTY    SURVEY.  43 

Forest  fires  are  rare,  especially  in  the  northern  half  of  the  town. 
This  is  due  to  the  absence  of  railroads,  and  to  the  sentiment  of  the 
population,  which  is  against  fires.  Only  one  railroad  traverses 
the  town,  and  along  its  line  there  is  but  little  wooded  land  in 
which  fires  could  be  set. 

Madison  is  a  sparsely  inhabited  town,  so  that  local  demands  for 
forest  products  are  poor.  Nor  are  there  good  facilities  for 
shipment  to  other  towns.  At  present  ties  are  the  principal 
product,  being  cut  and  marketed  usually  by  the  woodlot  owner 
himself. 

Meriden.  Percentage  forested,  32.  A  large  part  of  the  ter- 
ritory is  taken  up  by  the  city  of  Meriden  and  its  suburbs.  The 
forest  is  confined  to  the  ridges  and  slopes  on  the  edges  of  the 
town,  and  the  better  timber  is  in  parks  and  private  estates. 
Excellent  markets  are  available,  as  the  woodland  is  practically  all 
within  three  miles  of  the  center  of  the  city.  Fires  have  done  but 
little  damage  in  recent  )'-ears,  except  on  Cat  Hole  Mountain. 

Middlebury.  Percentage  forested,  43.  Middlebury  contains 
much  excellent,  cultivable  land,  the  higher  lands  as  a  rule  being 
cleared,  while  along  the  streams  belts  of  forest  are  frequent. 
The  location  of  the  town  near  such  good  markets  as  Waterbury 
and  Naugatuck,  with  easy  hauls  into  both  these  places,  enables 
the  forest  owner  to  dispose  profitably  of  his  wood.  Timber  of 
medium  age,  between  twenty  and  forty  years  old,  occupies  a 
greater  area  than  is  taken  up  by  the  other  age  classes.  Serious 
damage  from  forest  fires  has  not  taken  place  lately. 

MiLFORD.  Percentage  forested,  yj.  Mil  ford  contains  no 
rough,  rugged  lands,  the  surface  being  low  and  rolling  in  nature. 
Near  the  Housatonic  River  sandy  and  stony  soils  prevail.  Here 
the  forest  occurs  as  a  long  belt,  paralleling  the  river,  but  else- 
where throughout  the  town  isolated  blocks  of  woodland  are 
typical.  The  timber  is  mostly  less  than  sixty  years  of  age. 
Forest  fires  are  well  controlled,  except  along  the  Naugatuck 
Division  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hartford  Railroad. 
This  line  sets  numerous  fires,  which  annually  run  over  the 
adjacent  forest  with  disastrous  results.  Good  local  markets  for 
forest  products  are  available,  as  well  as  excellent  transportation 
facilities  to  the  neighboring  cities,  Bridgeport  and  New  Haven. 

Naugatuck.  Percentage  forested,  46.  The  forests  of  Nauga- 
tuck have  been  heavily  cut.     About  half  the  wooded  area  consists 


44  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

of  young  stands  below  ten  years  of  age.  Nearly  an  even  distribu- 
tion is  found  between  the  farm  and  forest  land,  although  the 
latt-er  appears  as  scattered  blocks  of  considerable  size.  The  local 
markets  and  those  of  Waterbury,  four  miles  away,  particularly 
the  brass  foundries,  which  use  large  amounts  of  cordwood,  are 
partially  responsible  for  the  heavy  cutting,  but  frequent  and  dis- 
astrous forest  fires  are  much  more  to  blame.  These  often  injure 
middle-aged  stands  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  necessary  to  cut 
them  prematurely  for  cordwood  instead  of  allovv^ing  the  growth 
to  reach  tie  or  pole  size. 

New  Haven.  Percentage  forested,  12.  The  only  bodies  of 
woodland  are  found  on  East  and  West  Rocks  and  in  the  extreme 
western  and  eastern  ends  of  the  district.  Various  city  parks  and 
private  preserves,  in  which  very  little,  if  any,  cutting  is  allowed, 
include  nearly  the  whole  wooded  area.  Thus  the  amount  of 
wood  annually  cut  in  New  Haven  is  small. 

North  Branford.  Percentage  forested,  52.  The  central  and 
west-central  portions  of  the  town  are  taken  up  by  a  ridge  of  trap 
rock.  To  the  west  and  north  is  the  valley  of  the  Farm  River, 
while  across  the  southeastern  corner  flows  the  Branford  River. 
Practically  a  solid  block  of  forest  covers  the  trap  ridge,  but  in  the 
rest  of  the  town  agricultural  lands  predominate  and  the  forest 
is  scatteringly  distributed.  On  the  whole,  hickory  and  the  oaks 
are  more  abundant  than  chestnut,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  latter 
is  very  scarce  in  the  rougher  parts  of  the  territory. 

No  railroads  pass  through  the  town  of  North  Branford,  nor  is 
there  a  large  local  demand  for  wood.  But  the  town  is  within 
hauling  distance  of  New  Haven,  and  also  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  Air  Line  Division  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hartford 
Railroad.  The  remoteness  from  railroads  and  the  absence  of 
factory  hands  in  the  town  has  done  much  to  render  secure  the 
woodlands  from  injury  from  fires,  of  which  but  few  occur. 

North  Haven.  Percentage  forested,  33.  This  town  lies  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Ouinnipiac  and  Mill  Rivers.  It  is  comparatively 
level  and  contains  only  about  25  per  cent,  of  true  forest  soils. 
These  soils  comprise  a  sand  plain  in  the  north-central  part  of  the 
town  and  a  few  rocky  trap  ridges  near  the  eastern  border. 

Some  woodlots  west  of  the  Quinnipiac  are  found  on  agricul- 
tural soils.  The  forest  is  owned  in  woodlots  and  occurs  in  small 
patches,  except  on  the  sand  plain,  where  a  continuous  belt  of 


NEW    HAVEN    COUNTY    SURVEY.  45 

forest  exists.  In  the  isolated  woodlots  forest  fires  are  infrequent, 
but  on  the  sand  plain,  near  the  New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hart- 
ford Railroad  tracks,  they  burn  repeatedly.  Practically  no  stands 
are  over  forty  years  of ^ age.  Within  the  town  itself,  the  local 
demands  of  the  farmers,  townspeople  and  brickyards  create  an 
excellent  market  for  cordwood.  In  fact,  the  brickyards  (five  in 
number)  are  obliged  to  secure  their  wood  largely  outside  the 
town.  The  electric  and  steam  railroads  enable  the  farmers  to 
sell  ties  profitably. 

Orange.  Percentage  forested,  40.  Orange  is  an  agricultural 
town,  with  the  forest  in  small  woodlots.  The  only  exceptions 
are  in  the  western  end,  where  the  soils  are  unsuited  to  agriculture, 
and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Maltby  Lakes,  where  the  land  is 
held  as  a  protection  for  the  New  Haven  water  supply.  Markets 
for  forest  products  are  excellent;  which,  as  usual,  has  resulted 
in  the  disappearance  of  mature  timber.  On  the  whole,  forest 
fires  are  not  prevalent,  due,  undoubtedly,  to  the  woodlot  character 
of  the  holdings.  However,  in  the  well-wooded  section  near  the 
Housatonic  River  fires  are  frequent  alongside  the  Naugatuck 
Division  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hartford  Railroad. 
Around  the  Maltby  Lakes  surface  fires  sometimes  occur. 

Oxford.  Percentage  forested,  48.  The  woodlands  of  Oxford 
have  been  heavily  cut  in  the  past,  and  at  present  are  nearly  all 
less  than  twenty  years  of  age.  West  of  Eight  Mile  Brook  the 
timber  averages  considerably  older,  as  this  western  corner  is 
more  remote  and  hence  less  heavily  logged.  Only  one  railroad 
traverses  the  town  (running  across  the  north  end),  but  the  east- 
ern border  is  near  the  Naugatuck  valley,  so  the  manufacturing 
cities  of  this  valley  furnish  an  outlet  for  the  wood  of  Oxford. 
Fires  do  not  run  through  the  woods  frequently,  yet  when  they  do 
occur  the  stands  are  seriously  injured,  medium-sized  trees  often 
being  killed  outright. 

Prospect.  Percentage  forested,  63.  Prospect  is  located  on 
liigh  land  (four  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet)  which  is  rather 
plateau-like  in  character.  The  forests  are  fully  half  of  chestnut. 
Stands  of  pure  chestnut  compose  20  per  cent,  of  the  forest. 
Very  few  stands  are  over  forty  years  of  age  and  none  are  over 
seventy.  The  location  of  the  town,  within  easy  hauling  distance 
of  Waterbury  and  with  a  steam  railroad  and  a  trolley  line  close 
to  the  northern  border,  makes  it  possible  to  dispose  profitably  of 


46  CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT    STATION    BULLETIN    162. 

cordwood  as  well  as  of  other  forest  products.     Forest  fires  do 
considerable  damage  each  year. 

Seymour.  Percentage  forested,  41.  The  woodlands  in  Sey- 
mour form  extensive  bodies  along  the  .slope  of  the  Housatonic 
valley  and  on  the  western  border  of  the  town.  Elsewhere  they 
lie  in  more  or  less  isolated  blocks.  Fires  set  by  mill  hands,  as  in 
the  towns  of  Ansonia  and  Derby,  are  a  serious  menace  to  forest 
property.     Market  conditions  throughout  the  town  are  good. 

SouTHBURY.  Percentage  forested,  58.  The  forest  area  of 
Southbury  is  on  the  increase,  undoubtedly.  In  the  Pomeraug 
valley,  and  in  one  or  two  other  smaller  valleys,  the  country  is 
nearly  all  farmed ;  but  back  on  the  hills  only  the  very  best  land  is 
still  cultivated.  The  town  is  characterized  by  the  large  propor- 
tion of  abandoned  fields  which  mark  the  location  of  former  hill 
farms.  Southbury  is  a  large  town,  and  over  the  greater  part  of 
the  area  only  such  products  as  ties  and  lumber  can  be  marketed. 
One  railroad  runs  along  the  extreme  western  border  and  another 
goes  through  the  southern-central  section.  These  lines,  however, 
are  not  sufficient  to  give  the  town  adequate  transportation  facili- 
ties. Forest  fires  are  of  rare  occurrence,  except  along  the  rail- 
road. 

Wallingford.  Percentage  forested,  28.  Wallingford  is  a 
well-settled  town,  devoted  to  agriculture  and  manufacturing. 
The  forest  lies  in  small,  isolated  patches,  and  is  most  abundant 
along  the  eastern  and  western  edges.  Areas  of  absolute  forest 
soil  are  comparatively  infrequent.  In  fact,  some  of  the  land 
formerly  devoted  to  timber  is  now  being  used  for  peach  growing. 
Relatively  high  prices  can  be  secured  the  forest  products,  owing 
to  good  transportation  facilities  and  excellent  local  markets. 

Waterbury.  Percentage  forested,  32.  Approximately  one- 
third  of  the  township  is  occupied  by  the  city  of  Waterbury  and  a 
few  small  villages.  -The  area  required  for  residence  purposes  is 
increasing  yearly,  so  that  the  portion  of  the  township  that  can 
be  devoted  permanently  to  the  production  of  timber  is  limited. 
Existing  stands  are  in  small  pieces  located  on  ridges,  steep  slopes, 
or  swampy  sites.  Less  than  10  per  cent,  of  the  forest  is  over 
forty  years  old,  so  at  present  practically  nothing  but  cordwood  can 
be  cut  in  the  town. 

Waterbury,  with  its  many  manufacturing  plants,  requires  large 
supplies  of  wood,  which  can  be  met  only  by  importing  timber. 


NEW    HAVEN    COUNTY    SURVEY.  47 

Forest  owners  do  not  as  yet  attempt  to  prevent  fires  on  their 
holdings,  consequently  annual  surface  fires  are  the  rule.  Owing 
to  the  isolated  location  of  the  average  woodlot,  fires  could  be 
successfully  controlled. 

WoLCOTT.  Percentage  forested,  74.  Wolcott  is  the  most 
extensively  wooded  town  in  the  county.  The  farm  land  Hes 
mainly  along  the  streams  and  valley  bottoms,  with  a  belt  of 
pasture  separating  it  from  the  woodland  above.  While  the  city 
of  Waterbury  is  only  two  miles  from  the  southwestern  corner  of 
the  tract,  yet  the  lack  of  railroads  or  trolley  lines  makes  long 
hauls  necessary  in  carrying  forest  products  to  market.  During 
the  last  ten  years  fully  one-half  of  the  wooded  area  has  been 
burned  over  more  or  less  severely,  in  a  few  instances  stands  sixty 
years  or  over  being  killed.  Campers  are  commonly  considered 
responsible  for  setting  these  fires. 

WooDBRiDGE.  Percentage  forested,  50.  The  wooded  area  lies 
in  many  scattered  blocks.  Fully  40  per  cent,  of  the  forest  is 
under  twenty  years  of  age.  As  a  rule,  the  stands  in  the  southern 
half  average  younger  than  in  the  northern  part.  This  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  southern  Woodbridge  lies  close  to  the  New  Haven 
markets  and  hence  is  closely  cut.  Forest  fires  are  not  especially 
severe.  The  small  size  of  the  wooded  tracts  in  many  cases  assists 
in  affording  protection. 


A  SWAMP  OF  WHITE  CEDAR.     ( ChamaecypaHs  thyoides.) 
(See  page  35.) 


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THROUGHOUT    LITCHFIELD    COUNTY    THE    WOODS    HAVE    SUFFERED    SEVERELY    FROM 

ICE-STORMS. 


67  7  2    i  18 


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Connecticut 

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